The Turnover
by Ooobserver
Summary: In celebration of Deku's upcoming marriage to Uraraka, the guys wisk him off to a bachelor party in fabulous Las Vegas. What started as a exciting night however, turns into a morning of disaster, with a trashed hotel room and a missing Midoriya. In Japan, they are renowned heroes of justice. In the US, they're just a bunch of idiots who couldn't handle Vegas. "The Hangover" parody.
1. Merging the Squads

**Hm, I think this might be the first time I'm putting an author's note at the _beginning_ of an update. Anyway, welcome to a fun little parody of The Hangover, one of the most hilarious films out there. This wasn't originally the first BNHA story I wanted to put up here, but this idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave, so here we are. I figured this would be a good sort of test, to see if I could properly write the personalities and actions of the MANY characters in the series. Honestly, nervous as hell, this is a big league fandom, tons of potential backlash, but got to start somewhere, I love it too much to not post something! Enjoy!**

 ** _Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia and all it encompasses are the property of Horikoshi Sensei, definitely not a fanfiction writer such as myself._**

* * *

Merging the Squads

 _*Ring, ring, ring…*_

" _Hi there, you've reached Izuku Midoriya. I'm really sorry to have missed you. Please leave a message."_

 _*Ring, ring, ring…*_

" _Yo, this is Kirishima! Sorry I missed you, man. Leave a message!"_

 _*Ring, ring, ring…*_

" _Greetings, you have reached Tenya Iida. My deepest apologies for missing your call. On behalf of the Iida family and Ingenium hero agency, I urge you to leave your name, number, and a detailed account of your-"_

 _*Ring, ring, ring…*_

" _This is Todoroki. I'm sorry I can't answer the phone right now. I'll be sure to call you back as soon as I have the time."_

 _*Ring, ring, ring…*_

" _This is Bakugo. If I'm not answering, you're probably not important enough. If you say otherwise, then leave a damn convincing argument. And don't you dare just text, you extra! I'm busy!"_

Uraraka sighed, lowering her phone. None of the guys were answering, leaving the pit in her stomach to grow even further with worry; as well as frustration. She paced back to the mirror, informing the curious occupants of the room that all the calls went straight to voicemail. It was late at night, but she was under too much stress to even nod off. Her parents sat on a futon nearby, with Izuku's dear mom Inko seated in a chair beside her fellow mother, shaking with nerves as she tried to drink a cup of tea. Ochaco's dad gave a good-natured chuckle.

"I've known a few businessmen who dropped by Vegas. You lose track of time in those casinos. No windows, or clocks, just the tables. Your man might even be in the middle of a heater!" The Urarakas' daughter gave her father a pout.

"He's not the type to gamble, daddy. And besides, Deku wouldn't put having fun over us getting married." The sharp sound of Inko putting her teacup down drew everyone's attention.

"I certainly hope not! I raised him better than that." Despite the fierce delivery, the Midoriya matriarch was still shivering with worry, with Mrs. Uraraka trying her best to comfort the woman with a gentle hand on her shoulder. In the midst of all the tension, Ochaco's phone suddenly went off. Her response to answering it was just as swift.

"Hello?"

" _Uraraka, it's me."_ The fact that he was using her actual name was just as alarming as the subdued tone with which the line was delivered. This was still the rough-edged Katsuki everyone knew and lov- dealt with, but she never remembered him sounding so… uncertain.

"Bakugo? Where are you guys? I'm freaking out!"

" _Yeah, listen. Uh… we fucked up."_

"W-what are you talking about?"

" _The bachelor party, the whole night. It… things got out of control, uh… and we lost Deku."_

"What?!"

" _We can't find Deku, damn it!"_

"What are you saying, Bakugo? We're getting married at noon tomorrow!" On his end, Bakugo suppressed an irritated growl, letting it out as an exasperated groan instead.

"Yeah." He cast his gaze to the scorching Nevada sun.

"That's not gonna happen."

* * *

(Two days earlier)

Iida naturally stood stiff as his measurements were taken, acutely watching his posture to ensure precise accuracy with his suit. Upon completion, he was told he could relax and be on his way. Izuku, who'd been standing nearby, thanked the elderly tailor, before giving his closest friend an excited smile, which was instantly returned, though Tenya's had a great deal of pride mixed into it.

"I can't thank you enough for being my best man, Iida. I couldn't really think of anyone else more suited to the position. Well… maybe Kacchan, but…" He rubbed the back of his neck, rethinking what he'd just said. Iida's grin just widened, showing his perfectly maintained teeth.

"No need for that, Midoriya. I am honored to receive this task on the most important day of your life. Rest assured, with myself and Yaoyorozu acting as your heads this ceremony will be your crowning achievement." Deku held up his grateful smile, but allowed it to falter afterwards.

"Uraraka was pretty stunned when Tsu turned down the maid of honor spot. But I can understand her reasoning. Yaoyorozu is the only one of our friends that matches your level of organization." Iida puffed out his chest proudly and placed his hands on his hips.

"Indeed. In the meantime, Asui will make an excellent bridesmaid alongside the other girls. Adding in the guys who will be attending, we'll have nearly the entirely of class 1-A together for the first time since graduation. A momentous day, Midoriya. I hope you're prepared for the sheer scale of it all." Deku beamed at his friend, some memories of everyone in the U.A. dorms flashing through his mind. Much had transpired in the five years since graduation; here the two of them stood, Top 10 heroes, upholding justice and saving lives, with Izuku mere days away from formally joining his other best friend in matrimony. Ochaco had insisted on having a traditional western wedding, to which he found no reason to object. Tenya and Momo were more than happy to assist in all the preparations. Now, after weeks, no, months of work, there was only one thing left between him and marrying the woman he'd grown to love throughout high school.

One final adventure as a single man, orchestrated by their very own Eijiro Kirishima.

As soon as the couple had announced their engagement, the ever-enthusiastic redhead from old class 1-A had been on Izuku's heels about the bachelor party. Day in and day out, he'd throw out ideas for where to embark on the "manliest tradition in history". It was only recently that he suggested something out of country, after being given the idea by Kaminari. Naturally, Midoriya was unsure of flying all the way to the states and hitting up casinos just for a single night, but Kirishima had said Denki was adamant of Las Vegas' reputation for granting visitors a night they would never forget. He'd done his own research, planning out the flight, prices, hotel; the whole nine yards.

All that was left was consent on Ochaco's part, at Izuku's insistence. Having been warned by Kaminari of how future wives had a notorious distaste for excursions to Sin City, Kirishima and the others were surprised when the gravity heroine easily gave her fiancé a thumbs up and insisted he and the guys enjoy themselves. Sweet, innocent Ochaco was fully convinced her chivalrous and loving partner would never partake in anything scandalous, a sentiment that had tears running out of the man's emerald eyes. Some of the girls, particularly Jiro and Tsuyu, were more skeptical, but had little say in the matter.

In the end, despite his own desire to attend the event, Kaminari, as well as an invited Sero, had to pass on the trip, having been called out to act on Pro business on the weekend before the wedding, though assured everyone they'd make it for the actual ceremony. Kirishima was just finishing up a call with the Stun Gun Hero, barely making out a grieving Mineta in the background, likely being held back from begging to be taken with. Faint mentions of strip clubs could be heard obstructing Kaminari's voice, but the pair discussing over the call merely ignored him. Finally, Eijiro ended the call, his friend having wished them all a safe and fun journey.

The assembled gang was walking towards the correct terminal, their flight to Los Angeles International about to begin boarding. Kirishima walked beside the leader of the pack, a calm and collected Katsuki Bakugo. He, like the rest of the guys, had a light carry-on bag slung over his shoulder, containing just enough clothing and the like for a short trip overseas. The abrasive blonde had been rather silent for their drive to the airport, not even commenting when one of the others would say something "stupid". Now however, he chose to glance over his shoulder, spotting Ida speaking with Deku.

"Why the hell is Four-Eyes coming? The ladies can't dance for you if the pole is up your ass." Tenya blinked at the particularly vulgar comment, but responded with dignity, as any Ida would, calmly adjusting his glasses as he addressed the hotheaded blonde, moving his arms in sync to his explanation.

"I am attending to ensure none of you act poorly on foreign soil. We have a duty as high-ranking heroes of Japan to represent our society and its image. Think of the catastrophic backlash if one of us were to cause an incident overseas!" Beside the passionate Engine quirk user, Deku nodded, beaming at his friend's unrelenting steadfastness. Bakugo, naturally, just scoffed and turned back to face forward. Seeing the explosive hero's accusation deflected, Iida found his own rise to the surface, arcing an arm to point to the blonde. "What of you, Bakugo? I'm surprised you'd be willing to spend an entire excursion to the states alongside Midoriya. You two still can't quite coexist when outside the line of duty." Katsuki growled, but didn't bother facing Tenya to address him.

"You losers wouldn't know how to throw a bachelor party to save your lives. It'll be my job to make sure you don't look like a bunch of Dekus. Besides, I got no reason to deny helping the nerd chain himself down to Round Face for the rest of his life. Might as well start by having him drink his sorrow to the surface." Iida wasn't even surprised by now to hear such deflective scorn towards his friend, but before he could reply, Izuku spoke up for himself.

"That's not right at all, Kacchan! She doesn't chain me down, she makes me float, in every sense of the word." A warm smile grew on his lips. "She's got all the good qualities I don't, she's the reason I've made it this far, further than I could on my own. It'll be hard, both of us being pro heroes, but at the same time we'll understand one another with each step in our careers." The others all nodded in agreement at his declaration, while Bakugo rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Keep telling yourself that while I blow past you."

"To Midoriya's credit, ever since advancing his relationship with Uraraka, he's appeared much more motivated. So much so that he's broken away from the tug-of-war you two had over the number three spot." Bakugo's temple vein spiked as he turned again to glare daggers at their fifth member.

"ALL YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT THE LOSER CAN'T STAND ON HIS OWN!" Even as Katsuki's palms smoked threateningly, Kirishima chuckled slyly next to him.

"Oh yeah? Says the guy with his own lady and even a little tyke." Caught between his own accusations, Bakugo could only seethe quietly to himself, while Iida scolded Kirishima for further agitating the volatile blonde. Eventually, after shaking off his unadmitted loss, Bakugo shot a look back to Todoroki.

"What's _your_ stupid reason for coming anyway, IcyHot?" Instead of answering, Shoto let his eyes glide to his left, appearing somewhat lost in thought. Before Bakugo could relent at being ignored, Izuku stepped over and placed a hand on his despondent friend's shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Todoroki looked like he had a lot on his mind recently, so I offered him to join us, thinking he could use some time to get away from it all." The hybrid quirk user nodded to Deku's assessment, still looking away. The boys had reached their destination at that moment, moving to have their boarding passes scanned. The lady overseeing the process immediately gushed upon the five of them approaching, excitedly babbling about some of their recent exploits. As they finally boarded, Iida furrowed his brows, the woman's words resonating within his mind.

"Yaoyorozu had mentioned she wasn't sure having so many top heroes leave the country was a wise decision." Ahead of him, Bakugo scoffed once more.

"If the rest of them can't keep the scum in line for a few days then they're not worth their licenses. We've got all the approval to go on this trip, so they can just shut it." It was still surprising when the Explosion user made a good point, even if in an abrasive manner. Nevertheless, no one argued, making their way into the cabin. Bakugo had insisted having those he considered most annoying as far from him as possible during their flight. Fortunately, this was more or less accomplished, with the hothead taking a window seat beside Kirishima, while Ida, Deku, and Todoroki took the middle three in order. With the difficult parts behind them, the group bid farewell to their home as the airliner took off from its designated runway, beginning the twelve hour journey across the Pacific.

* * *

Iida commended his fellow heroes on displaying exemplary manners and considerate volume on the flight, though this could mostly be attributed to Bakugo being asleep for most of the trip. Said blonde groggily walked beside the others as they made their way to the rental car office. Once there, a debate broke out over what type of vehicle to take. Izuku and Iida insisted on a practical model, Kirishima wanted something flashy, while Todoroki said he didn't care either way. Bakugo, declaring his "expertise" was needed, demanded they take a couple of Ferraris, an idea quickly shot down by a flabbergasted Tenya, who admonished Katsuki's argument that they needed to cruise through Vegas like they owned the place.

In the end, thanks to Todoroki's welcome intervention, the gang settled on a quite luxurious, though far more tame Mercedes sedan, a choice that all seemed satisfied with, though Bakugo begrudgingly so. He drew the line when it was decided Izuku would drive, only to be shot down when it was stated that unlike him, the green-haired hero had actually taken the time to map out the best route to Las Vegas in painstaking detail, including all the rest stops they'd require. Iida took shotgun, still praising his friend's preparedness, as the rest piled into the back, in full spectrum of annoyed, excited, and stoic.

By far the most noticeable, and to an extent pleasant, detail of their drive was the lack of rabid fans. No one mobbed them for autographs at the gas station, or even gave them a second look while passing them on the highway. It was clear they hadn't yet reached All Might levels of popularity, but this was to be expected; their careers were just starting. Even so, the transition from household name to generic citizen brought back memories of a simpler time, before even their first sports festival in U.A., bringing a smile to everyone's faces. Well, save for Bakugo.

Finally, after half a day across water and another four hours on the road, the crew arrived at the outskirts of fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, the city's majestic lights and cityscape leaving them in awe, recalling how much of the town was dedicated to entertainment and visual spectacle. A feast for the eyes greeted them as Izuku drove towards the towering casino hotel of Caesar's Palace. Dropping off the sedan with valet, the gang made their way inside, approaching the sign-in desk where the attendant gave them a dazzling smile.

"Welcome! Checking in?" Deku nodded, stepping up to the counter.

"Yes, ma'am. We have a reservation under Midoriya." The lady clattered across her keyboard, humming to herself thoughtfully. Upon bringing up the file, her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my! You're all pro heroes visiting from Japan?" Izuku nodded nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "That's wonderful! I hope you all enjoy what our lovely city has to offer." Deku thanked her as she finalized their admission. "So I have you in a two-bedroom suite on the twelfth floor, is that okay?"

"Yes, it sounds perf- oof!" Bakugo shoved him out of the way, roughly placing his hands on the counter.

"Screw that! You got any villas?" The lady blinked in surprise at the man's forcefulness, but moved her hands back to the computer regardless, beginning her search.

"Dude, Bakugo, we aren't even gonna be in the room."

"Kirishima is correct. It is unnecessary grandeur for our stay." Katsuki eyed Iida from his spot at the desk, his usual scowl at the ready.

"Unnecessary grandeur? This is a bachelor party, you idiots! You get one of these in your life if you're lucky. We go all in or we don't go at all! Besides, there's no way in hell I'm bunking with any of you. I'd rather take the floor in the damn living room!" Deku nervously pointed towards Shoto.

"A-actually, Kacchan, Todoroki already called that." In response to this, Shoto glanced at his duffle bag.

"It's not tatami, but I'll be fine for one night with a floor mat." Bakugo rolled his eyes, then reached over to grab Izuku by the collar.

"Listen, Deku, we'll split the damn cost. You already got me out here, so I'm putting my foot down for the arrangements. Got it?" The captive One For All holder gulped, then nodded firmly. "Good." He released his grip, then turned back to the desk before even Ida could scold him for pressuring the poor guy. The lady seemed to have found what they were looking for, looking to the blonde optimistically.

"We have one villa available. It's 4,200 for the night." Bakugo grinned, brushing off the detail.

"Pocket change for us."

"It most certainly is not!" Ignoring Iida, Katsuki accepted the room keys and motioned for Deku to hand over his credit card to be held until they were ready to pay. After doing so, he led the pack in heading for the elevators, Kirishima already chatting away about where they should go first. Unknown to the five of them, two pairs of eyes watched their group head down the hall, narrowing in delight a second later. Their owners had overheard the lady at the front desk, going on about how these men were heroes from out of town, or, out of country, to be precise. The two grinned at one another, seeing their next targets.

* * *

"Holy crap!"

"Oh my… it's enormous."

"Wow, it does seem to fit more with the occasion. Thanks for convincing us to take it, Kacchan." The Explosion user just walked off from his rival's gratitude.

"Whatever. We can admire the place when we come back for the afterparty. Now you losers pick a room and get dressed, we're heading out in 30." Everyone else's eyes drifted to Izuku, but he just shrugged and gave a conceded grin, telling them it may just be best to have the hotheaded blonde lead their excursion for the night. With that, they all dispersed to prepare for what would surely be an evening to remember. Iida took a moment to call up Asui and let everyone know they'd made it safely to Vegas, just as he had when they'd touched down at LAX.

He was just finishing up the call when Deku walked in looking for him, readjusting his dress jacket. Todoroki followed closely behind, hands tucked in his pockets. Their former class rep grinned as he replaced his phone in his coat, facing his friends.

"Everything is ready for your wondrous celebration come Monday, Midoriya. And, if Tsu is to be believed, Uraraka is quite eager to spend one last night with you as only a fiancée before the wedding." At this, Izuku couldn't help blush and turn away awkwardly, earning amused grins from both his friends.

"W-well, in that case I hope we can make it back a little early so I can take her to dinner." While Ida and Todoroki nodded at the wonderful idea, the fourth member of their group stomped in, looking as annoyed as ever.

"Round Face goes in the back of your mind tonight, moron. This is our time to let loose. Now where the hell is Kirishima?" Recalling something from earlier, Izuku motioned towards the door to the suite.

"Oh, he headed downstairs for a few things. He should be back in a bit." Not surprised, Katsuki just leaned against the nearest doorframe, crossing his arms and tapping a finger impatiently. In the meantime, Izuku took a moment to glance at the fire-ice hero among them, concerned for his near perpetually frowning friend. He hadn't actually asked what was bothering Shoto, deciding it better not to pry, even though he'd done more than his fair share of that years ago. However, maybe tonight, with all the festivities, the stoic man would open up enough to talk. The thought brought a hopeful smile to Izuku's face, until he was distracted by the returning Kirishima, who leaned into the room with a fierce grin on his face.

"Hey, guys, sorry about the wait. Let's go!" As he was already near the door, the enthusiastic redhead took the initiative of leading his friends out, though they became confused when he turned towards the stairwell instead of the elevator.

"We're not _walking_ down, Shitty Hair," Bakugo declared without room for argument. Unfortunately, he was speaking to the one person who could get away with doing so.

"Hang on, I wanted to show you guys something first." Intrigued, the rest of the group followed him up, moving past several floors until they reached the roof access. Despite Iida's protests that they weren't authorized to be there, everyone stepped out into the warm summer night air, the howls and echoes of the city rising from the streets below. Shoto froze the door open to make sure they could leave, then joined the others in gazing at the impressive view from the edge of the landing. They voiced their awe at the sight, easily spotting the outlines of each casino hotel settled along the Strip, flooded by neon in all shapes and colors.

While the others were distracted, Kirishima went over to a nearby A/C unit where he'd set up five glasses and a beer, popping off the cap and distributing the drink evenly. He took one and cleared his throat, garnering the guys' attention.

"Gentlemen," he began in his best suave voice. They grouped over by the display and each took one of the glasses.

"At least you didn't buy the cheap shit," Bakugo chided, taking a look at the bottle label. Kirishima waved him off.

"No way, man. This guy I met down at the bar recommended it after I told him what we're doing. Now come on," He raised his glass towards the center of the group, glancing over at Deku with a grin. "Midoriya, you're about to face your greatest challenge so far: making a woman happy for the rest of her life." Izuku chuckled lightly as he rubbed his neck. "You and Uraraka have gone through so much together already, I can imagine you two kicking even more ass in the future to come, all with smiles on your faces. But before that, let us treat you to the manliest night of _your_ life, here, with your friends, in this party-drenched city."

Izuku looked ready to cry from Kirishima's speech, but just settled on nodding fervently, then raising his glass to meet the redhead's, with the others joining in after, clinking the five together with a resounding ring.

"Cheers!"

Deku wasn't a fan of alcohol, but he drank it down anyway to uphold the spirit of their upcoming nighttime adventure. Time and again he would wonder how he ended up where he was now, surrounded by so many friends who would go so far for his happiness. He hoped the day would come where he could repay each of them tenfold. For now, however, they were off to see what Las Vegas had to offer.

* * *

 _ **Alright, there we go. These chapters will be pretty short compared to what I usually write, and the story is based on a preexisting plotline for the most part, so I think I'll be able to put up a new update every few days or so. Expect some twists though, can't have it be**_ **exactly _like the movie, that'd be way too boring, and also kinda hard considering most of these people have superpowers..._**

 ** _Also, as far as I can tell from my plans, there shouldn't be much beyond a bunch of cursing, but please let me know if I have to bump up the rating later, thanks!_**

 ** _Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!_**

 ** _next chapter: Nobodies_**


	2. Nobodies

**In true me fashion, I forgot to put a bunch more disclaimers or such at the beginning last time. For one, spoilers from the manga, not too heavy, but its there. Same goes for the movie, though technically if you've seen that one filler episode promoting it, or just saw the trailer or a few clips, you should be fine. And of course, I also don't own "The Hangover".**

 **I think that covers it all, but I'll probably remember something else after this is put up. Oh well, such is life when your memory is trash.**

* * *

Nobodies

The distant sound of a door closing managed to pierce the haze in Iida's mind, his groggy eyes cracking open, trying to focus on whatever was in front of him. This turned out to be the cold hard floor of their hotel room, on which his face was currently pressed against. Blinking a few more times, he spotted his glasses lying nearby, reaching out with a wobbly arm to grab at them, while simultaneously doing his best to reactivate the rest of his muscles. With difficulty, he managed to replace his lenses onto his face and pull himself to his hands and knees.

The next step, he stumbled to his feet, just barely avoiding falling backwards. His whole world seemed to be a spinning top, forcing him to quickly move for the lounge chair nearby, plopping down into it and letting his mouth hang open, a weak groan escape it. Despite the lackluster volume, someone on the other side of the room seemed to hear it, proven as a white and red head of hair emerged from the Jacuzzi.

Todoroki grit his teeth as he held a hand to his temple, his dichromatic eyes snaking across himself looking for answers. The tub had a thin layer of ice on one side, and a few scorch marks on the other, while the man himself was still wearing his night-out clothes, albeit with one sleeve burned off and the rest heavily soaked. He tried his best to activate his left side to warm up and hopefully dry out the now heavy wet jacket, but found it hard to concentrate. Deciding it was easiest to simply change out, Shoto gripped the edges of the Jacuzzi and climbed his way out, finally dragging his legs over and onto the actual floor.

Leaving Iida be for now, the dual quirk user took uneven, shivering steps towards his room, completely missing that he stepped on Kirishima along the way, or the fact that the redhead was currently shirtless and _imbedded_ in the floor. As he let behind loud soppy footsteps, Todoroki took a quick look around the rest of the suite. Various props and costume pieces were thrown about every room, a few melting icicles were stuck in the wall, one of the chairs in the living room was smoking, with a large burned-out hole in the middle, Shoto thought he saw a chicken walk by, and finally, upon reaching his equally trashed room, he found a certain type of full-sized doll laying on his bed, making him shudder revoltingly and instead turn towards the closet to find his more casual attire.

Back in the hallway, Kirishima stirred, woken up by the cold splotch of water Todoroki left behind on his chest. Yawning, the man tried to move, only to be held back along every inch of his body. Darting his eyes from left to right, he found himself a few inches buried, his quirk still active. Although severely disoriented, he recalled the last time this happened and simply turned off his Hardening, his body suddenly feeling free. With great effort, he pulled himself out of the human-shaped indent in the floor, scratching at his spiky hair. Upon making it to his feet, Eijiro realized he needed to take a massive whizz, turning towards the bathroom at the other end of the hall.

On the way, he walked by a passed-out Bakugo face down on a big pile of bedding, but gave him little mind in favor of emptying his bladder. The bathroom was just as ruined as the rest of the place, though Kirishima didn't question why there were precise lines of burn marks all over the walls and ceiling, instead opting to finally take that leak. In the midst of his relief, Eijiro suddenly heard a low growling coming from nearby, his attention snagged just enough to warrant turning his neck to glance into the bathtub beside the toilet. It was also full of burn lines, but claw marks were aplenty as well. In the middle of it all, a small but fierce-looking creature was glaring up at Kirishima, it position indicating it was ready to pounce at any given moment.

The redhead just stared at it for a moment, contemplating who knows what, then casually turned back to the toilet, continuing his business. Following an awkward few seconds, the switch in his head seemed to flip, eyes going wide and his neck snapping back towards the creature, just in time for it to leap at him, claws at the ready. Kirishima yelled out in panic and instinctively activated his quirk, as the beast grabbed at him and began scurrying all over his upper body, while he tried his best to pull it off. Just as he managed to grab its tail, an intense heat picked up, followed by a twin red beams hitting Eijiro in the ear, causing him to yelp and panic further.

A minute later, the muffled cries of the Hardening user burst to full volume as he rushed out of the bathroom and clumsily ran away, the door slamming shut behind him. Unfortunately, he managed to trip over the slumbering Bakugo, sending him crashing to the floor as the temperamental blonde finally stirred. Naturally, the method by which he was awoken caused his red eyes to burn with rage upon opening.

"Shitty HAIIIIR!" he growled, scowling at the fallen redhead, who looked like he'd had a heart attack. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!?" To his surprise, Kirishima's fear was directed past him, towards the closed bathroom. He raised a shaky finger to point towards the hazardous room, as Iida and Todoroki gradually made their way closer to the two, somewhat recovered.

"Dude, do not go in the bathroom!"

"What? The fuck are you-"

"Dude, there is a mongoose that shoots freaking laser beams in there!" The other three blinked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Excuse me?" Shoto asked simply. Bakugo, rolling his eyes, got to his feet and walked off towards the bathroom, scratching the back of his head. He took the handle and cracked the door open, leaning his head in to take a look. Not two seconds later, he jerked backwards, a few fringes of his spiked-out hair fried off by two red blasts that came out of the other end of the room. Iida and Todoroki finally managed to fully wake up, eyes wide in astonishment as Bakugo hurriedly slammed the door shut again and placed his back to it, face in shock.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!? How did that little shit get in the bathroom?!" Even amidst the alarming development, Shoto noticed another oddity, curiously studying Kirishima as the man finally got back to his feet.

"Kirishima, have you looked in a mirror yet?" Confused, the redhead raised an eyebrow, even as Iida too did a double-take towards him. Wishing to see what could possibly rival the dangerous animal in their suite, he walked over to the other room and stepped up to the full-length mirror that was miraculously undamaged. Upon seeing his shirtless figure, his eyes trembled in their sockets, completely in awe.

Eijiro's shoulders were draped with an exquisite tattoo, running across to his upper back and just touching the edge of his arms. The design seemed themed with his powers in mind, appearing as stylized jagged edges of rock stalactites hanging from his back. Turning around and glancing behind him, he found matching stylized letters of "RR" just below his neckline. As the other three boys gathered by the mirror, Kirishima couldn't help but face his image again and study it all over again.

"I… look… awesome!" he cheered, grinning widely as he bellowed a laugh, taking a moment to flex and shoot a few poses to his reflection. He did the same thing again after hardening, just to see how it looked. To his pure delight, the abrupt edges on his skin only seemed to enhance the spectacle. While he was clearly enjoying himself, Iida stepped over to provide the voice of reason, worriedly waving his arms.

"Kirishima, this isn't the time to celebrate! You have no idea how you got that, it could've been much worse! How are you not concerned by who put that on your skin?" Eijiro was only partially listening, stopping his posing to run his fingers over the black image engraved into his skin.

"Huh, it doesn't feel the same as a fresh tattoo, I wonder if it's some new method they have here in the states. Weird…" Ida sputtered at his concern being ignored, while Todoroki, who was beside him, raised an eyebrow, pointing towards Kirishima's chest.

"What's that on your pec?" Everyone stopped and looked towards the indicated area. Kirishima looked down, furrowing his brow as he tried to decipher what was written there in the same way as the masterpiece on his shoulders. His face paled as he finally managed to read the apparent kanji upside down, while Bakugo actually grinned in amusement.

 _Mina_

The hero known as Red Riot just stared, frozen, unable to speak, all the excitement and joy from earlier spiraling into horror. While Katsuki was flat-out laughing now, Todoroki remained stoic, and Iida fervently chopped his arm towards the stunned Eijiro.

"You see? Even people who have been together for years hesitate to have each other's names placed on them!" Kirishima was brought out of his stupor, only to explode back at the Engine quirk holder.

"We're not even _dating_! I mean, I've taken her out for lunch a few times, and we made out once at one of Bakugo's parties, but that was while drunk! Oh god, this is bad, this is really bad…" While the poor man held his hands to his head in continued disbelief, Ida suddenly considered something from his friend's misfortunate discovery.

"Everyone, quick! Examine yourselves to see if anything else is amiss!" Bakugo, who had settled down from his fit, merely pulled at the collar of his muscle shirt and looked down at his chest, seeing nothing wrong. Todoroki had already seen himself while changing, so remained at ease. Tenya however, was aghast as he looked down at his calves.

"Dear god, I'm missing a muffler!" All eyes went to the man's leg, where one could clearly see the manifestation of his quirk. One calve had all six mufflers protruding from his skin, but on the other were only five, with dried blood caked around the hole where the sixth would have been. "I… I can't believe this… What am I going to tell my brother? This is beyond humiliating, a stain upon the Iida name, I have shamed the Ingenium legacy!" As he went on, Bakugo's patience was quickly draining.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, CHECK YOUR ASS, THE MUFFLER IS PROBABLY SHOVED UP THERE!" He glanced towards Todoroki. "IcyHot, go wake up Deku before I kill this uptight." Shoto didn't respond to the command verbally, but did walk off to find their friend. At the mention of the green-haired man, Tenya only grew more hysterical.

"This place is a disaster, and they have Midoriya's credit card downstairs. I can't believe I, who came along to watch over you all, am now going to be apologizing for negligence to my best friend. This is horrible!" Bakugo rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying not to explode further from the bespectacled hero's ranting.

"The fuck happened last night?" he asked no one in particular. "Whatever. Let's just get some coffee and get the fuck out before housekeeping shows up." Iida was repulsed by the idea, moving his arms even more frantically.

"Are you insane?! As visiting heroes of Japan we can't possibly leave the room in such a deplorable state! We must take responsibility and apologize to the staff." Katsuki groaned, barely able to contain himself.

"I have a massive headache, so just SHUT UP for a minute, Four-Eyes!" As the three began attempting to calm themselves, Todoroki walked back into the room, appearing worried.

"Guys, he isn't in there."

"Did you check all the rooms, smartass?"

"I did, I looked everywhere. His bed was actually untouched, still made." The blonde sighed, getting up from the couch.

"Knowing him the nerd went out for his early morning workout or whatever. I'll call him, tell him to get his ass back here." He pulled out his cell and dialed up the right contact, holding the phone to his ear as he watched Kirishima lean against the bar counter, finally having calmed down. A few moments later, a vibration ws heard coming from beside the redhead. Eijiro looked over by his arm and reached to pick up the phone, recognizing it immediately.

"It's Midoriya's." Bakugo hung up on his end, glaring at the man.

"No shit." Shoto held up a hand to his chin, deep in thought.

"If he left his phone here there's a good chance he's still in the hotel. I'll go look for him. We should meet down by the pool." Iida and Kirishima nodded in agreement, while Bakugo just scoffed. Just as Shoto was about to grab his room key, the guys collectively froze at a thump that sounded from the other end of the suite.

"The hell was that?" Bakugo demanded, narrowing his eyes." The thump sounded again, all heads turning towards the closet at the end of the hall. Cautiously, the four of them made their way over, quirks at the ready. Iida, taking the lead, reached out and grasped the knob, then, with bated breath, opened the door.

Inside, aside from the matching mess to the rest of the place, was a bizarre mechanical device on the floor, which scrambled around on four segmented legs. With the door no longer in its way, the object ran right into Iida's legs, bouncing back when he didn't budge.

"What the heck is that?" Kirishima asked, watching as the thing tried again to ram into the Engine user. Said man entered the same thoughtful pose as Todoroki had done earlier, studying the machine in their closet.

"Hm, I'll admit the design looks familiar somehow. It certainly doesn't appear to be a toy, or have outwardly hostile programming, still, I recommend we practice caution in-"

The thing jumped on him, securing itself to his chest.

"AHHHH! A RUSE! This is the work of villainy! Save yourselves, my friends! Run!" The others just sweatdropped, watching as Iida fumbled around on the floor, trying to pry the device off. Unfortunately, it refused to budge, though was obviously not harming him. If anything, it just looked like he was wearing a weird bulletproof vest. Shoto helped the man to his feet, at which point he thanked the fire-ice user and brushed off his attire. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped for now. I'm sure we can find someone to deactivate it later. For now, let us head down and find Midoriya."

The gang agreed, finally moving to exit their tornado of a hotel room.

* * *

Kirishima, Iida, and Bakugo sat around a table by the pool, a miscellaneous pile of breakfast foods scattered across. They still felt like crap, but at least now their stomachs would shut up and let them think without grumbling interruptions. No one, staff or guest, had commented on them as they'd made their way from the villa, revealing that at least they hadn't attracted unwanted attention from the other night to their activities; from the hotel, at least. Iida absentmindedly poked at the thing strapped to him, still bothered by where it may have originated from. Finally, after a long bout of silence, the guys noticed Todoroki making his way towards them. He took the only available seat, sighing in defeat.

"I looked everywhere. Gym, casino, front desk. No one has seen Midoriya. He's not here." Bakugo casually took a gulp of orange juice, hoping to flush out his system.

"He's fine, he's a grown-ass man. All you idiots just calm down." When the others all looked at him skeptically, he growled, pulling over a piece of paper and pen. "Alright, let's just figure this out. What's the last thing we remember doing last night?" The guys all contemplated, leaning back in their seats.

"Well, the first thing was we were on the roof, taking shots to celebrate." Ida suddenly felt nauseous at Kirishima's recall, but held it in for the sake of what little image he had left. "And then we ate dinner at The Palm, right?" Shoto nodded.

"That's right."

"And then we played craps at the Hard Rock, and I think Midoriya was there. No, no. He was definitely there." Iida held his head, frustrated at his inability to recall a thing.

"I can't remember going to dinner at all," he mumbled. Eijiro went on.

"After the Hard Rock, I blacked out. It was like… emptiness." Bakugo finished jotting down the guys' recollections, scratching the side of his head with the pen.

"Ok. We have up until 10 p.m., so that gives us a 12-hour window where we could have lost him." While he was thinking, the device strapped to Ida suddenly shifted, causing him to look down in confusion. A second later, a compartment on it opened, startling the guys as a metal component clattered onto the table, sending some of their food to the ground. Once they recovered from the unexpected action, Tenya's eyes widened.

"M-my muffler! Why on earth did this thing have it? What else could be in there?" Todoroki suddenly had an idea, reaching into his pants.

"That reminds me, I found my soaked wallet in my other jeans but nothing else. Check your pockets, there may be something." Everyone did as suggested, emptying out some loose change, along with their own wallets onto the table. Iida frowned at a piece of paper wadded up in his.

"I have an ATM receipt from the Bellagio. Eleven-o-five for… $800!" His face darkened as he hung his head, expression unknown. "I am unworthy to bare my family name…" Kirishima offered him a consoling pat on the back as he showed off his own contents.

"I've got a valet ticket from Caesar's. Five-fifteen." Bakugo placed his fist against his forehead.

"Oh shit. We drove during this crap?" From the way Katsuki's arm was now, Todoroki spotted a peculiar item strapped to his wrist.

"Bakugo, what's that on your arm?" Raising an eyebrow, the Explosion user glanced at the aforementioned wristband, with Iida recognizing it before he did.

"My word, Bakugo, you were in the hospital last night. Are you alright?" The blonde scowled, pulling the bracelet off with little effort.

"I'm fine, jackass. At least now we've got a lead. Come on, let's get going." Just as everyone was getting up from their seats, Todoroki spoke up again, holding his open wallet.

"Wait, guys, check for your licenses." Confused by the request, but fearful of his tone, the three did so and slowly felt the dread seep in.

"They're… gone," Kirishima breathed. He turned to Tenya, who could not look more mortified if he tried. "Yo, Iida, could we have left them back in the room?" Ingenium nodded, basically on automatic.

"Y-yes, of course. Let's take the time to look for them. It will be extremely unfortunate if we were to run into trouble without them." Even Bakugo couldn't argue with that, and so the trio hastily made their way back towards the elevators, all quite afraid of what else could be missing.

* * *

Four average, blank-minded, unidentified, more-or-less broke foreigners stood outside Caesar's Palace, waiting for the valet to bring them their car. All dejected, frustrated, and practically regretting ever coming to America in the first place. Not only were their hero licenses nowhere to be found, but their hero costumes were missing as well. As were all their cash, passports, and credit cards. The one exception was a single emergency card that Iida had stashed in the room's complimentary safe, which was befitting the situation. Armed only with whatever funds were on it, they now faced an entirely new string of possibilities. Deku could have just as easily been in the hospital as well, in who knows what condition, considering his past experiences with such facilities.

As they waited, Kirishima ventured his eyes around the area, trying to keep his mind occupied from the fact that they were robbed. He blinked as he saw a maintenance crew over by the Paris Casino in the distance, surprised by what he saw them working on. "Uh, guys? Check it out…" He pointed to the Eiffel Tower replica that stood by the casino, and immediately everyone else was distracted from their misery for a moment.

The tower's top portion was bent at nearly a ninety degree angle, the supports on one side having been nearly blown off. Oddly, the guys couldn't see sign of any scorch marks or collateral damage beyond the tower itself. Kirishima spotted a bystander watching the crew work to repair the structure, stepping over.

"Hey, man, what happened over there?" The man glanced at the four guys before chuckling, looking back at the tower.

"Heh, no one's really sure. Sometime this morning something hit the damn thing and knocked it at an angle. People think it was a lightning strike, say they heard a thunderclap or other. Not sure how the top half is still standing with that kind of damage though. Pretty strange, but then not the weirdest thing we've seen in town." Eijiro nodded, intrigued. He and the others found themselves following the path the tower's new angle pointed to, seeing that it was now aimed at the Luxor further down the Strip. Before they could dwell on it any further, Bakugo grabbed Kirishima by the collar and began dragging them back to their original spot.

"We've got more important things to worry about, damn it. Focus on finding Deku." Just as he said this, their valet finally returned, though was clearly not delivering to them a Mercedes.

Parked before them, ready to go, was what appeared to be a bright red jet car, complete with a wide frame, massive boosters on its rear wheel mounts, and an open two-seater compartment that looked more like a cockpit. The guys just stared at it until the valet got out and tapped the side of the vehicle in a chipper motion, although it was clear he was just as surprised to be dealing with such a machine. He eyed Iida out from the group.

"Here's your car, Professor Shield." The four heroes just looked at the young man, then the car, then shot looks towards one another, and finally set their sights on Tenya, who may have begun having a panic attack.

"Oh god…" he breathed in defeat. Before the man could say anything else, Bakugo clapped him firmly on the shoulder, then mumbled just loud enough for the three others to hear.

"Everyone act cool, don't say a word." The authority in his voice was enough to even convince Iida to play along, joining Bakugo in surrounding the car. He glanced at the nervous valet, actually feeling a twinge of regret for the guy. "Uh, I'll hit you on the way back." The man nodded eagerly, then took off a little faster than normal, perhaps misinterpreting what the blonde meant.

"You still gotta work on your facial expression, man," Kirishima chimed in.

"SHUT UP! Ok, this time, I'm driving, no arguments!" Iida indignantly motioned to the vehicle.

"There's only two seats. How do you expect us to all fit?" Seeing the reasoning behind that, Bakugo looked down at the dashboard as he climbed in the driver's seat. They had apparently used this car last night, so there must have been a way to fit four or more. Experimentally, he pressed a button that displayed two arrows pointing away from each other. The guys jerked backwards as the futuristic vehicle lurched, then its red covering shifted around, the entire thing stretching further as additional plating extended and laid itself down, along with creating an extra row behind the driver. When it all settled down, Bakugo didn't hesitate to order the guys to get in.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm involved in such an illegal act."

Tenya had a hand over his face as he leaned an elbow against the doorframe, doing his best to ignore Katsuki's cursing as the man honked at the car in front of him. The group was currently stuck in traffic, moderate construction ahead of them delaying their arrival to the hospital. Naturally, they got a lot of weird looks cruising around in David's hero support vehicle, but were far more occupied with recent events to care. Trying to lighten the mood, Kirishima leaned forward to address the Engine user seated in front of him.

"Hey, don't worry Iida, we'll get things sorted out, you'll see. Besides, it's kinda cool to be driving around in this sweet ride, right?" Bakugo scoffed, sending another honk ahead of them.

"This is why we should've gotten the Ferraris." He tapped the wheel impatiently, leaving an awkward silence among the four occupants. Not a minute later, there was suddenly a loud rumble in the distance. Drivers leaned out their windows while pedestrians stopped what they were doing to find the source. The four heroes looked around, trying to follow their example. The answer came soon after, when a massive spider-like being landed on a roof near the street, crushing parts of the building in the process. In its fangs were several bags stuffed with cash, its eight eyes looking behind it for pursuers.

Sure enough, a pair of pro heroes landed on the same roof not a moment later, glaring at the villain as he made to jump again. Several people had begun either screaming or cheering, creating a decent amount of chaos in the street. This gave Bakugo an idea, his fingers running over the various buttons on the wheel. While Iida lamented that this was exactly why they needed their licenses, Katsuki seemed to find what he was looking for.

"Can it, Four-Eyes, this is exactly what we needed." Hitting the button, Bakugo gripped the steering hard, the car suddenly jerking upwards, its axles extending like stilts well above the height of all nearby cars. While the others all reoriented themselves from the motion, their explosive companion grinned in satisfaction, hitting the gas and driving them directly over the distracted civilians, with most assuming they were backup heading for the pursuit of the arachnoid villain.

* * *

The group stood awkwardly in front of the doctor performing a physical on an elderly man, trying their best to look anywhere other than at the barely dressed old-timer as Bakugo was leading the questioning. The medical professional sighed, taking a moment from his patient.

"Look, I already told you, you came in with a mild concussion, a bunch of cuts all over your fingers, no big deal. Our quirk healers took care of it." Katsuki unconsciously rubbed his head, wondering where exactly he'd been struck.

"Do you remember how many of us there were?" The doctor furrowed his brow, still working with his patient while answering.

"Ah… I don't know. I think it was just you guys. Minus the fancy vest," he motioned to Iida. "And one other guy." Kirishima clapped his hands together, grinning at making some progress.

"That's our guy! Was he okay?" The doc seemed to grow a slight smirk of amusement as he had the old man stand up.

"Yeah, he was fine. Just whacked out of his mind. You all were." The four looked at each other, biting their lips and pondering their mental state as the doctor finished up his examination. After another awkward minute of waiting, the medic finally stepped away from his patient, eyeing the guys with a tired look.

"Guys, I really have to go, I'm sorry. I have a surgery up on the fourth floor." Before he could walk off, Iida zoomed in front of him and gave the deepest bow his back could provide, startling the professional.

"Please, sir! If you could give but just a moment more of your time it could mean the difference in finding our dear friend." The other three waited with bated breath while the doc considered his act, then relaxed when the man sighed and nodded slightly.

"Walk with me." The four followed as he led them out the room and down the hall, grabbing a clipboard hanging on the wall as he went. They turned a corner as the doctor flipped through the sheets, finding what he was looking for. "Okay, here we go. Patient name, Katsuki Bakugo, 2:45 a.m. arrival. Minor concussion, like I said. Some lacerations to the fingers. Looks like your buddies said the hit to your head was from a… cast-iron frying pan." The guys exchanged glances, while Katsuki's eye twitched, a rather chilling memory of his old lady surfacing. As they stopped at a counter, the doctor furrowed his brow in thought, scanning the data.

"Hm, your blood work came back this morning. Nothing in your system to explain the bizarre behavior. There was alcohol, but not the levels that would incite what I saw last night. You should be fine, in any case." Although this didn't bring them closer to Deku, the guys did collectively breathe easier at the notion that they probably hadn't been drugged. Seeing this, the medical professional considered his favor complete, moving to leave. Before he could, Shoto lightly grabbed his arm.

"Wait, please, doctor, is there anything else? Something we may have talked about, or someplace we were going?" The man considered Todoroki's question, his eyes shifting back and forth as he dug into his own, untampered, memory.

"Actually, there was something. You guys kept talking about some wedding last night." Bakugo threw his hands up.

"Yeah, no shit. Our own nerd Deku is getting married Monday, back in Japan." The doc shook his head.

"No, you kept talking about a wedding you were planning for the week after, though I think you said it would also be in Japan." Again, the gang exchanged worried looks. "Ah, that's right, you fellas were discussing it over at the MGM Grand." He paused, rubbing his chin. "Oh, that would explain the frying pan." Confused, Bakugo stepped practically in the man's face.

"What the hell do you mean that explains it?" The doctor groaned, clearly tired of the groups' company by this point. Eager to get them to leave, he provided them the last information he could.

"The casino is hosting a renowned chef at their Garden Arena: Landon Camsay."

* * *

 ** _Alright, sweet! This is going well so far. And I'm acutally able to keep up the "every few days" schedule. Thanks so much for the support thus far!_**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: Glad to see I'm not the only one who thought so. Expect these regularly!**

 **U. : Oh yeah, expect my love of cliffhangers many times here.**

 **fencer29: Haha, he would absolutely do that if the desire was strong.**

 **R-Doll: Hey! Great to see you again! And much appreciation for the feedback about the characterization, that's my most valued input!**

 **Legend of Titans: Oh yeah it will, heh heh.**

 ** _Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!_**

 ** _ **next chapter:**_ **Flambéed King****


	3. Flambeed King

Flambéed King

Bakugo had the car skid loudly into three whole parking spaces, not bothering to care as Iida scolded him for his uncourteous maneuver. At the moment, the MGM seemed light on visitors, worrying the guys that perhaps their target had already left. Upon entering the premise, they quickly followed the posted signs leading to the Garden Arena, hurrying along the halls as quickly as Tenya would allow them, the man pointing out that there were in fact security guards at nearly every corner. The additional protection suggested that the apparently famous chef was in fact within the building, their nerves loosening as they finally heard the cheering of an audience nearby.

Bursting through the doors, the four heroes witnessed a relatively sparse arena, quiet excited chattering permeating the air as they walked down the stairs leading towards the center. They could see that the cameras in the area were powered down at the moment, giving them hope that they could speak with the man at the center of it all. The individual in question, they assumed, was the middle-aged blonde man dressed entirely in white, currently speaking to a suited gentleman who could either be a businessman or manager.

The gang grew nervous as they neared the bottom of the arena, noticing a few of the seated spectators look at them with mixtures of surprise and scrutiny, whispering amongst themselves as they passed. Bakugo was the exception to their nerves, leading the pack with his crimson eyes laser-locked on the man below, not in the least concerned about outside opinion. As they finally stopped behind the barrier separating an impressive cooking setup from the general public, the two men discussing seemed to take notice, turning away from their conversation to look the four directly.

The man in the suit almost yelped, seeming to shrivel back at the sight of them, or more specifically, Katsuki. The same could be said of the other man's focus, though his reaction was far different. The chef's eyes narrowed instantly and his expression shifted into utter disgust and irritation. He briefly broke eye contact to scan the arena for security, seeing them casually at their posts.

"Who the fuck let this Powder Keg back in?!" he shouted loudly enough to be heard at the edge of the area. On cue, the guards were at attention, suddenly hurrying down to the center to remove Bakugo from the premise. As they did, Iida leaned on the barrier and eyed the chef in a panic.

"Please, sir! We urgently require your help!" The man waved him off, unappeased.

"I don't give a shit." He pointed a finger vehemently at Bakugo. "This asshole is banned from the hotel, which includes this arena. Get out." Katsuki's eye twitched, his hands up and already popping with his quirk.

"You think you can talk to me like that, you bastard?!" Landon scoffed, grabbing a nearby frying pan.

"You want another round of skull tennis, you little shit?!"

"I'LL FUCKING BLOW YOUR ASS TO THE MOON!"

"TRY IT, BOOM-BOY!"

Security had reached them, rushing forward to restrain Katsuki even as he and Landon continued to throw insults at each other. Kirishima tried getting them to ease up, while Ida and Todoroki turned to both the chef and his companion.

"Are you by chance the proprietor?" Tenya inquired, adjusting his glasses. The well-dressed man nodded, folding his arms.

"I am. Though you should already know that, since I gave you one heck of a talking-to last night. Where's your green-haired friend?" The two more mature members of the group gasped, leaning forward.

"Wait, he was here with us?" The manager raised an eyebrow, prompting Shoto to pick up where Iida stopped.

"We have no memory of the previous night." When the man seemed to grimace, Todoroki caught on to what he was assuming. "We were at the hospital earlier and found out we weren't affect by drugs or any amount of drinking. Please, we're just trying to retrace our steps and find our friend." At this, the manager actually had his eyes widen, then placed a hand to his chin in thought. After staying in that pose for a moment, he glanced over at the situation with Bakugo, seeing the man attempting to blast his way out of security's hold, still trading taunts with Landon. Sighing, he stepped over and motioned for his men to stand down, which surprised both squabbling hotheads to settle down in their surprise.

"Mr. Camsay, it seems these gentlemen may have been victim to a misfortune that befalls our fair city more frequently than we'd like." Landon looked confused, as did the others, wondering what the man could be talking about at the proprietor turned to the guys. "Sirs, last night you caused a disturbance here that was severe enough to have me called down from the casino. Mr. Camsay wouldn't go into detail, but it seems your explosive friend got into quite the argument with him." Bakugo gritted his teeth as he rubbed his head, Landon smirking at the action, immediately earning him another threatening crackle from the hero's palms. The manager sighed again.

"Look, I'll forgive the ruckus last night if you can all promise to be civilized. I wasn't here for it, so you'll have to ask this man here if you need information." He motioned to Landon, who scowled at the group before him, pointing to them with the frying pan still in his hand.

"I'm not saying jack to them, especially this prick." He nodded in Katsuki's direction, though luckily Kirishima stopped him before any more explosions could emerge. While they fired a few more swears back and forth, Todoroki faced the manager.

"Sir, what did you mean by a 'misfortune' we went through?" The man gazed sadly at the floor, twiddling his fingers.

"I don't know the specifics, you'd have to ask around, but we've had incidents with memory loss, the source of which is unknown." Disappointed they couldn't learn more, Shoto and Iida turned their attention to the chef, who was now staring them down, no more sympathetic than earlier.

"I already told you, I'm not saying anything. This asshat over here is with you, so don't think you'll find me crying tears for your washed-out minds." Before Landon could turn away, Iida clapped his hands together and bowed, pulling forth his strongest determination as he practically prayed for the man to help them.

"Mr. Camsay, I beg of you, our dear friend is missing. His wife-to-be is awaiting his return by Monday, yet we have not a clue where to look. I take full responsibility for Bakugo's rudeness to you, and ask that if there's anything, anything at all that I can do to repay you for the inconvenience, just name it. I'll give everything I have to ensure my best friend is there to marry the woman he loves!" Tenya locked eyes with Landon at the conclusion of his plea, the iron gaze striking something within the chef. He could see Ida's willpower, both exposing himself and displaying his indomitable dedication to his cherished companion. Camsay glanced between the four of them, ignoring Katsuki's perpetual glaring, then finally sighed wearily, folding his arms and turning away.

"Very well. I'll give you a chance." Everyone but Bakugo felt relief flood their bodies, honestly surprised the man would give them the opportunity. Landon suddenly spun around and pointed a challenging finger at the Explosion quirk user. "You. You'll face me in a competition of culinary prowess. If you manage to produce even a passable result, I'll tell you what I know." Though Shoto and Tenya seemed concerned about such a match, Kirishima simply threw an arm around his temperamental friend.

"Ha, no sweat. Bakugo here may not look it, but he knows his way around a kitchen." Landon grinned arrogantly.

"Is that so? Well, that's a prerequisite. In order to give you a fighting chance, we'll pick something from your neck of the woods." Bakugo scoffed as he shoved Eijiro off of him.

"I don't need a fucking handicap to destroy you." Camsay remained undaunted, brushing aside the comment.

"Katsudon." The guys were surprised, until the chef explained further. "Your missing friend mentioned it last night, about how his mum would make the best he's ever tasted. I was going to put my own to the test, but then the Powder Keg went off." He laid his darkened eyes back on Katsuki. "Do you accept?" Never one to back down, for better or for worse, Bakugo sent over his maniacal grin, punching his fist into his palm with an explosive aftereffect.

"Damn right I do, you bastard." Landon smirked back, then turned his head and nodded to a cameraman nearby. The man understood his gesture, speaking through his headset to the other operators to power up their machines and point them center-stage. While the guys wondered what Bakugo's opponent was up to, Landon stood smugly on the other side of a countertop containing motion-activated burners.

"Let's show everyone what Japan has to offer," he voiced eagerly. Iida gulped, recognizing this as exactly the type of situation to avoid, but based on Bakugo stepping forward and almost automatically washing his hands in the nearby sink, he wasn't worried in the least. Tenya and the others joined the manager on the sidelines as a group of assistants called forth by Camsay dropped off the necessary ingredients to both sides. Just as Katsuki tied on an apron, he spotted something flying at him out of the corner of his eye, reacting swiftly to catch it in his hand. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking over at Kirishima with a scowl. The redhead just flashed his sharp-toothed smile and gave a thumbs up.

"Trust me, man, it'll help!" Groaning and rolling his eyes, Bakugo nonetheless reached up and tied the headband around his temple, pulling it taunt with a grunt for good measure. Landon seemed amused by the act, but made no comment, instead choosing to lightly brush the countertop before him, causing flames to erupt from the burners. The cameras were rolling by now, trained carefully on the opposing sides.

Bakugo let off a few moderate blasts from his hands, as a warning to the chef not to underestimate him. In response, Landon leaned forward on the counter and smirked back at his opponent, his hands placed directly into the flames he'd activated moments ago. Iida, Kirishima, and Todoroki were shocked upon seeing the man's flesh unaffected by the blaze, which framed him threateningly as if he himself was producing the fire. The manager beside them noticed their awe, humming thoughtfully as he watched alongside them.

"I suppose you didn't know, Landon's quirk is Heatproof. It makes him fearless in the workplace and entertainment scene alike. Expect a hard fight for your friend." The guys tensed, seeing the utter confidence across Camsay's face. It was matched only by Bakugo's, though they weren't certain if it was justified this time. He could strong-arm his way through a fight with a villain, but could he channel that here just as well?

There was no more time to question the odds. As both Bakugo and Camsay had hands at the ready, a horn sounded from the arena, cheers following soon after as the two cooks sprang into action. The foes were quick to wash out and begin their rice, Landon surprising a few with his pre-steam seasoning, while Bakugo added his own bit of spice, clearly keeping himself in mind when prepping the grain. His friends grew nervous upon noticing, hoping whoever was judging these had a wide range of tastes.

With the rice on its way, the two shifted focus to their pork, Landon expertly hammering at the meat to perfection, while Bakugo earned a fair amount of awe as he slammed a metal pan cover on his and detonated a series of explosions all across his hand, pulverizing the Tonkatsu to the tenderness he needed. Landon briefly eyed the man and his unique method, but retained attention to his work. On the sidelines, Kirishima hollered the loudest for his best friend, seemingly competing with the audience.

The pair were now coating their meats in flour and egg, neither wasting a second in uniformly covering and shaping. Both cooks turned to their burners, where oil was waiting to deep-fry their Tonkatsu. While Bakugo simply dropped it in, Camsay stepped ahead and lowered his gently in his hand, thoughtlessly submerging his flesh in boiling oil. The chef glanced at his opponent, giving a taunting smirk as he gradually rotated and slightly flexed the meat in his subtle grip, making sure it cooked evenly. With his free hand, he swiped up and spun around a chef's knife and used it to pull over, line up, and chop his onions and Mitsuba in short order.

Irritated by the showboating, Katsuki took a moment away from his fried pork to show just how fast he was with a knife, Kirishima laughing in utter joy as the Explosion user blazed through his ingredients in seconds, the blade and his hands a mere blur, grasping shock from the audience above as well. Both with plenty of time to spare, the two opponents checked on their rice and ensured it came out light and fluffy. Afterwards, the two seemed to have a sub-divisionary competition on who could break apart their egg yolk the best, finishing up as their pork was finally golden brown, swiftly removing it from the oil and slicing it cleanly. Four hands moved like wild devils, mixing together the sauce necessary for their cutlet, tossing in the onions soon after.

It was at this point Bakugo got the drop on Landon, grabbing the edge of his covered pan and braving the flames underneath as his hands glowed from the nitroglycerin igniting at low intensity all along his palms and fingers. Camsay showed no signs of discomfort from the setback, calmly allowing his sauce to boil. They moved on to adding their Tonkatsu to the sauce, then egg, and finally the Mitsuba after a period of covered cooking. At last, the two competitors moved to their final presentation, scooping their rice into a bowl and transferring their completed cutlets. Both added their own personal flair to the dish, before concluding their rush and slamming their palms down on the countertop, signaling completion. The horn sounded again, and the audience rose to their feet, applauding both sides on an exciting race to the end.

Iida was sweating profusely, unsure how exactly Bakugo would fare in the end, Kirishima remained enthusiastically praising his blonde companion, while Todoroki held the same stoicism he was known for, never betraying much emotion. As the cheering died down, three distinguished-looking individuals entered from somewhere off to the side, making their way over to the table at the other end of the kitchen setup and seating themselves, prepared for judgement. Eijiro eyed them suspiciously, then turned to Landon.

"Hey, how do we know these guys won't show favoritism? I mean, we're apparently a bunch of nobodies and you're a big deal chef." Camsay actually grinned at the questioning, glancing at the panel himself.

"Easy. They all hate me." The guys sweatdropped at this response, but the nasty looks the chef was receiving from the trio confirmed his statement. He and Bakugo delivered their dishes to the group and backed away, hands held behind their back or folded respectively. As they each sampled a few bites of the Katsudon, their faces revealed reluctant, but unavoidable approval at Landon's entry. When they arrived at Bakugo's, there was a significantly different reaction. Two of them went wide-eyed at what was likely the personal spiciness the explosive man had added, while the third seemed pleasantly surprised.

A minute later and they all nodded to one another in agreement. Facing the two cooks, they delivered their verdict.

"Camsay, as much as it pains me to say this, you outdid yourself with the rice. The fluffiness, even the fragrance was savory in its own way."

"The egg, flawless thickness that blended with the chicken as it ran."

"I crunch of the breading was excellent, honestly found it _fun_ to eat."

They moved on to Bakugo.

"Well, um, I can't say I'm fond of such a spice level, to be perfectly honest, but you did very well on the tenderness of the pork, no struggle at all in chewing it up and taking in the flavor."

"Rice was a bit dull at first, but it soaked in the spice from your sauce, so points there."

"Wow, I had forgotten just how much I love a good kick to the taste buds. It's like Mexico and Southeast Asia both smacked me across the face."

The trio took a deep breath, then delivered the last word.

"Bakugo, despite your valiant effort, we have to give the win to Camsay." The audience erupted into applause once again, though far more deafening. Landon politely bowed to the judges in thanks, while Bakugo was left a twitching mess where he stood, teeth grinding and eyes bloodshot. Outside the border of the culinary battlefield, Katsuki's friends sighed at his reaction.

"The man still needs to accept that he doesn't have to win _everything_ ," Iida muttered, holding up his hands in a shrug. Eijiro was busy crying 'manly' tears to his friend's fierce yet unsuccessful trial.

"At least it seems he met Camsay's requirements. We should get a further lead now." The other two nodded to Todoroki's analysis, moving around the barriers to get closer to their fourth member, who remained where he stood. As the audience died down and began to somewhat disperse, Katsuki noticed Landon step over to the judge's table and take a forkful of his Katsudon for himself. The chef seemed to concentrate on each move of his jaw, his lips pursing and shifting thoughtfully. As he swallowed, he casually tossed the fork back into the bowl.

"Fucking fantastic."

Bakugo blinked, losing a significant amount of his boiling rage in an instant. Landon walked over to the man and held out his hand, his expression hard, but not oppressive.

"Some good fucking food there. And guts." Katsuki stared at the offered hand for a moment, processing the chef's gesture. The others were equally astonished, waiting for their temperamental companion's reply. Still blank-faced, Bakugo reached out and grasped the offered shake, sealing the motion. Landon broke into a grin, tightening his grip. "I hope we get the chance to do this again, Powder Keg."

As sure as the rising sun, Katsuki finally acknowledged the promise of a challenge, letting off an equally smug grin as his hand heated up and glowed orange. Naturally, London was completely unaffected, but understood the meaning regardless. "Same here, Oven Mitt. Always have to right the wrongs." Sparks flew between the two men's eyes, causing Tenya and even Shoto to give a smile. Kirishima was busy fully bawling his eyes out, holding up a shaking fist.

"S-so… so manly…!"

Eventually, after all was said and done, the group of four settled in amongst the now vacant countertops, Landon leaning against one as he folded his arms, delivering on his side of the agreement and providing whatever he could on Midoriya's potential location, as well as what went on at the MGM the previous night. The chef pulled out his cellphone, scrolling through to find a specific group of pictures.

"The five of you came up after the show, so the cameras were off, but I did snap a few charming moments while you were all acting like idiots." The gang collectively showed signs of embarrassment, as Landon handed his phone to Iida, correctly deeming him the most mature of the group. Immediately upon seeing the first picture however, the normally stiff and punctual Ingenium devolved into a stuttering mess.

"H-H-Hatsume!?" The guys crowded around, not willing to believe it at first. Sure enough, the fist photo showed a rather cheery Tenya with one arm around the pink-haired inventor's waist, as she proudly held up the device that was currently attached to Iida's chest. The mechanical construct twitched against his ribcage, as if recognizing its creator through name only. "That's why… why this thing looked familiar. It's one of her 'babies'!"

"What the heck is she doing out here, though?" Kirishima asked, scratching at his spiky hair. Landon readjusted himself against the counter, furrowing his brow in concentration.

"I had a fair amount of executives in the audience last night. That woman suddenly appeared and clung around them like roaches to a dropped crumb. They were support company heads, meeting here in Vegas for a regional assembly. I believe she was vying for an opportunity to present her inventions. That's when you five walked in, laughing about something, probably stupid, and noticed her in the crowd. Based on the way you interacted I could tell you knew each other well, chatting well into an hour or two."

Iida was scrolling past pictures as Landon explained, his face paling by the second as he witnessed photographic evidence of Hatsume manhandling him, getting very touchy, in his face, and in general irremovable from his person. They also had gone to the hotel's dining area, which Camsay had joined them in due to having a conversation with Izuku. Tenya and Mei had linked arms and shared wine, hugged, a lot, and eventually, the image of a full on kiss left Tenya shivering from fright.

"I… I really did all this?" he questioned, mortified. Landon nodded sagely, then looked the Engine user in the eye.

"You two shared a rather deep talk about joining her technology with your family's hero agency, a partnership of some kind, although, it somehow turned into a marital proposal." Bakugo nearly choked on his spit, trying not to laugh his ass off.

"It's no laughing matter, Bakugo!"

"It absolutely is!"

Everything the doctor had told them finally made sense, and as unfortunate of a bind Tenya was now in, they had another source to track down in their search for Deku. Shoto made sure they knew where they were going.

"Is Hatsume staying here at the MGM Grand?" Camsay shook his head.

"Nope. Not even on the Strip. She's out on the edge of town, holed up in some crappy inn called… Dusted Sunset, I believe was the name she mentioned." This was odd indeed. Mei was no millionaire, but her successes after graduating had given her more than enough funding to afford even the most luxurious of Las Vegas hotel rooms. Even so, they had their destination set.

Still morbidly crushed, Iida returned Landon's phone and thanked him for the information, as did his friends. The crew turned to leave, waving final farewells to the chef. "Good luck, mates! And keep that jackass close from now on!" Bakugo flipped him off without looking back, earning a good chuckle from Camsay, who sighed and shook his head, moving off to get back on schedule.

"Foreigners are always a riot."

* * *

 ** _So sorry for how late this was, everyone. This chapter was (and will remain) the hardest to write, mostly because A. I am mediocre at best when it comes to cooking, so I'm sure I stuffed a bunch of BS into the process which I welcome you all to call me out on, and B. It took a while of Internet hopping to try making everything as legit as possible. Honestly, now I want to make Katsudon. And I'm hungry. See you all soon!_**

 **HankFlamion18: Yes, I'll be addressing that somehow, worry not.**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: Yeah apologies for the hiccup in the release again, but worry not for the future.**

 **fencer29: Yes, that chapter was super convenient in adding that detail, and yeah they do.**

 **lostdog200: I'm glad I can deliver the laughs.**

 **Guest: Indeed, throw in parodies within parodies.**

 **Legend of the Titans: Good call!**

 ** _Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!_**

 ** _next chapter:_ Blank Check **


	4. Blank Check

Blank Check

The four visiting heroes made their way back to the parking lot, easily spotting the bright red of their ride, as well as the large amount of space it took up, a fact that Bakugo was now happily bragging to Iida was a good idea. Unfortunately, Tenya wasn't very responsive at the moment, having had his life flipped over, then pulled inside-out, and finally thrown onto the road to squirm in self-pity.

"Just leave me, my friends. I am no longer the proud Iida you have come to know these many years. Here stands but a mere transient who allowed this promising venture to deteriorate into utter madness." As a dark cloud hung over Tenya, Bakugo simply ignored him and unlocked the car, stopping briefly to bend over and examine what he said better not be a scratch. Todoroki was more sympathetic, offering a pat on the back. Finally, finishing off the scaling, Kirishima walked right up and locked his arm around the taller man's neck, positivity overflowing.

"Don't be like that Iida. We can't lose you in this way! Sure, things have gone down the toilet for us, but there's still hope. If we can just find Midoriya, our old class's shining cinnamon roll, everything will get better. It always does when he's around. He needs you, buddy, he needs his best friend searching, not wallowing."

Tenya stared in awe at his redheaded companion, eyes practically sparkling behind his glasses. In the next moment, they were obscured by the glare of light across his lenses, his head hung as he raised a shaking fist in furious internal struggle.

"Kirishima… thank you. How could I have allowed myself to sink so low?" Iida's arms were flung upwards, his spirit revitalized. "I cannot stand and rot until Midoriya is by our side again! My tainted soul can fester all it wants, but I refuse to allow my dearest friend to remain lost and without his former classmates!" He posed and dramatically pointed into the distance. "Come! Let us go, to Hatsume!"

 _*Buzz, buzz*_

All energy flat-lined as Iida began vibrating, causing the guys to deadpan as he lowered his arm and retrieved his phone, reading the caller ID. His nerves resurfaced as he looked up to the others.

"It's Yaoyorozu." No one dared to offer answering it, leading Tenya to swallow and accept the call, putting on his best collected voice.

"Iida speaking."

" _Hey, Iida, good to hear from you. I know you guys are probably out having fun, but we wanted to make sure everything was alright."_

Tenya stiffened, though followed the motions as Bakugo waved for everyone to get in the car. Iida cleared his throat as he shut his door, taking the backseat with Todoroki this time as Eijiro rode beside their driver, who was busy readjusting the rearview as their old class rep replied to Momo.

"Ah, yes! Of course, we've had quite the time here. Apologies for worrying you all." Momo assured him it wasn't a big deal, just as Bakugo turned the ignition, letting a roar reverberate across the parking lot.

" _Was that a jet engine?"_

Iida froze, cringing to himself as he decided how to answer, with Kirishima shaking his head and running a hand back and forth across his neck. Tenya hated lying, but he also didn't want to panic his friends back home. He just had to treat this like the time they went to find Bakugo.

"I, um, indeed! The boys and I were feeling nostalgic, so we stopped at a local arcade. Quite the advanced entertainment they have here in the states. Bakugo is currently seated in a jet car racing game." Kirishima gave a thumbs up, while Katsuki began backing out of the lot.

 _Oh, I see! That sounds great. It's nice to hear you loosening up, Iida. You were so wound up during the wedding planning, I had hoped going on this trip would help relieve some of that stress."_

"Ever the concerned leadership element. I thank you for your concern." As they were about to turn to the exit, Bakugo hit the brake as a supped-up muscle car screeched to a halt in front of them. Before the blonde could even curse at the driver, a pair of Chinese thugs wielding baseball bats stepped out, immediately converging on the front of David's vehicle and angrily shouting at the four guys inside.

"WHERE IS HE?!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM!?"

"Whoa, holy crap! Hang on, I think we're looking for the same guy!" Kirishima blurted back, waving his hands defensively in front of him. Bakugo began freely shouting colorful language at the men, while Shoto tried to get everyone to calm down.

" _What was that? Iida?"_

"Ah! I… we're alright! It looks like some ruffians have walked in with a score to settle with another patron." The thugs suddenly slammed their weapons into the hood, panicking the heroes as Bakugo stood up in his seat and began setting off explosions in his hands, asking if the pair wanted to die.

" _That sounds like Bakugo though. What's happening?"_

"W-well, you know our dear 'King Explosion Murder', he's easily angered if someone's noise is bothering him." Momo chuckled on the other end.

" _No argument there. I still can't believe he holds Japan's record for Most Rejected Hero Name Applications."_

Iida laughed uneasily back to her, as the thugs closed in on their seats, still occasionally bashing the car. Suddenly, Shoto leaned out and aimed his right hand at the ground beneath their assailants' car. In a flash of frigid energy, the asphalt was coated in a thin sheet of ice, at which point the fire-ice wielder turned to their driver. "Bakugo, drive!"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" he shouted back, but hit the gas all the same. Distracted by the attack from Shoto, the thugs instinctively stepped back as the jet car surge forward, easily bashing aside the flashy ride in front of them that had lost all traction on the ice and escaping onto the main road. No sooner had they gunned it down the road that Iida remembered he still had a call going.

" _Iida, I just heard Todoroki use his ice! Are you guys in danger?"_

"Not at all, Yaoyorozu! Our good friend was simply immobilizing the ne'er-do-wells while Kirishima contacts the authorities. Even here in the U.S. our duty as heroes to keep the peace endures." Momo hummed thoughtfully.

" _I knew we could count on you to uphold the honor of our society. Oh, may I speak to Midoriya? I had a message for him from-"_

"So sorry, Yaoyorozu! We've got to deliver our statements, I'll call you back later, farewell!" He hung up before Momo could interject, letting out a ragged breath of anxiety.

"I think that went well," Kirishima offered, looking back to give Iida a smile. Iida opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off as something impacted with the side of the car, jostling its occupants.

"The fuck!?" Bakugo lanced on the rearview, only to see the previous thugs now in their own vehicle chasing them down. While one drove, the other was leaning out the passenger window, aiming his open palm at them. A second later, an energy-based projectile was fired from his hand, barely missing one of the jet car's wheels. Iida gripped the seat in front of him.

"Bakugo, get us off the Strip, we can't draw attention!" Grumbling about taking orders again, Katsuki nonetheless swerved onto a side street and gunned it. Thankfully, it seemed no one noticed their brief altercation. Bakugo turned a few more corners, trying to drive towards the less populated area of town. Kirishima piped in about heading towards the motel Hatsume was at, causing his explosive friend to curse and swerve onto another road, correcting his path. They made it a few miles down a neighborhood, eyes peeled for their pursuers.

"Did we lose them?" Eijiro's question was answered by the screeching of tires, as a car they recognized suddenly burst out of an alleyway ahead of them. The thug riding shotgun sent another blast at them, which Bakugo managed to avoid.

"What kind of weapons does this thing have?" he growled, scanning the buttons on the wheel. He pressed one that looked like a missile, which, to his delight, fired a pair of them out from the sides of the car. However, halfway to their intended target, the metal casings suddenly broke off, leaving behind a field of massive bubbles. Bakugo's eyes went bloodshot as he bared his teeth.

"What kind of missile fires fucking _bubbles_?!" believing there to be no threat from the strange weapon, the thug launched an entire volley of projectiles at them, convinced they could easily tear through the floating anomaly. To his, and the guys', astonishment, the salvo was caught inside the spheres, detonating harmlessly within before the bubbles dispersed in a flurry of pops. Kirishima cheered beside Katsuki, who merely commented on how lame the countermeasure was.

Everyone then panicked upon realizing how close the two vehicles were to a head-on collision, although Bakugo just smirked and pressed another button, one he was familiar with. Just before a potential crash, their jet car lifted up on its axles, letting the baffled thugs drive underneath. They hit the brakes in an effort to turn around, but Bakugo anticipated this.

"IcyHot, freeze up their wheels!" Shoto understood, leaning out to fire several precise blasts of his quirk as their vehicle lowered itself back to the ground. In a flash, the assailants found their car stalled in the middle of the road, large masses of ice encasing their wheels. The two cursed and slammed their fists on the dashboard, as the four heroes turned the corner and vanished.

* * *

As the crew pulled up to the indeed awful-looking motel they were told Hatsume was staying at, they finally understood why she'd chosen it. Right beside the establishment, practically sharing a wall with it, was an overhaul garage immersed in all manner of scrap metal and junk parts from dozens of various vehicles. "Pedro's" was displayed in neon above the main garage door, and within the opening they could make out the crackling light of someone using a blow torch.

Bakugo parked their ride in the motel's lot, but the four of them forsook checking out the rooms in favor of investigating the garage first, knowing the tendencies of their old schoolmate. They stepped carefully around a number of pieces of engines and the like on their journey inside, immediately being surrounded by Spanish music upon entering, playing on some old radio in the corner of the room as it rebounded off the metal walls. Their arrival was signaled by a sensor nearby, prompting the torching light to cease, followed by a bandana-wearing mechanic rising up from beside an old clunker.

He had a small wrench tucked behind his ear, brown eyes scanning each one of the guys as they stood there, waiting for confirmation of some kind. The man, clearly Hispanic, stepped around and wiped his oil-stained hands on his mechanic suit.

"How's it going, homes? What can I do for you?" Iida looked about ready to take the lead, but Bakugo quickly cut him off.

"Is a pink-haired lady with crosshair eyes here?" The mechanic blinked, then widened his eyes, a smile growing on his face.

"Oh! You're all Hatsume's friends, right? She told me about you." He focused on Iida. "Congratulations, ese." The Engine user contained his discomfort, but didn't exactly answer, merely looking anywhere else. The man before them simply shrugged, then craned his neck towards the back of the shop. "Ey, chica, your man's here!" Immediately following his outburst, the clattering a multiple piles of parts was heard throughout the garage. A few of the guys winced upon hearing a strangled "Ow!" somewhere in there, but eventually the excited face of their old support friend popped out from behind a shelf of engine parts. Her yellow eyes zeroing in on Iida as he flinched from the sudden attention.

"TENYA~!" she sang, rushing over before clamping to his chest in a bone-crushing hug, causing them to fall over onto the floor. Iida gagged from the blow to his air supply, which Mei seemed to notice, prying herself away enough to look him in the eyes. Her vision was then tugged to the device attached to him, causing the inventor's joy to swell even further, hugging Tenya once more. "And you brought our baby!" Ingenium was practically passed out by the time Hatsume got off of him, though fortunately the woman helped him to his feet, only to quickly fiddle with the device on him until it suddenly released him. As Mei retrieved it, Iida felt his ribcage relax.

"I think it was restricting my breathing," he mused, performing a few calming exercises. Hatsume hummed to herself as she looked her invention over.

"A simple adjustment, not to worry, love." Triggered by the name used on him, Tenya grabbed the pinkette by the shoulders before she ran off.

"Listen, Hatsume…"

"Silly Tenya, its Mei to you."

"…Mei, listen carefully. We don't remember anything that happened last night." The woman blinked in confusion, tilting her head.

"Like, actual memory loss?" Shoto stepped up to intervene.

"Yes. Something wiped our memories of the previous night. What's worse, we lost Midoriya." Hatsume covered her open mouth with a hand, in utter shock. The mechanic beside them seemed to notice the situation at hand, craning his head towards the office.

"Come on, guys, let's pick this up in the office." Mei nodded fervently, taking Iida by the hand and dragging him with her.

"Good call, Pedro. Let's go." Kirishima fell in line beside the now identified Pedro, offering the man a smile as they walked through the mess.

"So you're the owner, huh?" The other man grinned proudly.

"Damn right, homes. You need your ride tricked out, tuned up, or even yourself tuned up, you come to me." Eijiro raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean _yourself_ tuned?" Pedro chuckled rather slyly as they walked through the door to the office, where Mei and Tenya were already settled into a couch. Bakugo and Shoto plopped down on a pair of armchairs.

"Quirk races, my friend. Illegal night runs across the city. They pay big cash to the winner, so the runners need a reliable, and low-key, place to make sure they're at their best. I've dealt with guys who have all kinds of hardware in 'em, just like your buddy here with the engine calves." Mei gave Iida's leg a firm slap.

"Those engines are a treat to work with, isn't that right, sweetie?" Iida hesitantly nodded, recalling the many times he'd been the focus of her latest baby after Midoriya could no longer act as her guinea pig as often. The conversation came to a halt when Bakugo leaned forward and slammed his palms on the table between them all, a snarl evident on his face.

"Enough of the babbling, damn it! Tell us the last time you saw Deku!" Despite his ferocity, Mei was unaffected, calmly placing a finger to her lips in thought.

"Hm, it had to be at the MGM Grand, with you guys."

"What time?" Katsuki pressed, pulling out the paper he'd been tracking their night on. Hatsume scrunched up her face, trying to remember, then seemed to settle on an answer, giving the Explosion user that carefree smile.

"I guess around 1. I knew that was around the time Pedro gets his super-secret clientele in and I wanted to see what kinds of items I could offer them. After that, I came to your guys' hotel room with my baby here and found the place trashed, like, worse than my personal workshop trashed! You guys should be proud!" The four grimaced. "Anyway, you were all passed out, so I just snuggled up in Tenya's big strong arms for a bit, then headed out once I woke up. I figured you'd call sometime today." Iida just placed his face in his hands, silently praying to some god or other.

Bakugo scribbled down the information, though was clearly upset they weren't left with much to go on at this point. Mei wrapped herself around Iida's arm, clearly content. "But instead you just come straight here! Oh, I knew I made the right choice with you, Tenya. You're so loyal and upstanding, I can't wait for the wedding." The man in her clutches took in a deep breath, facing the woman practically in his face.

"Hatsume, I think you missed the part where we have _no memory_ of the night's events. How can I just marry someone who I don't even remember proposing to?" To Iida's discomfort, Mei actually looked a bit hurt by his words. However, no one had a chance to respond.

 _*CRASH*_

In an instant, the office door leading back outside was kicked open, and a pair of police officers stormed in, guns drawn and pointing at each occupant of the room in turn.

"POLICE! HANDS UP, NOW!"

"HOLY FUCK!"

"AHHH! IT'S COOL! IT'S COOL!"

"EY, WHAT'S THIS ABOUT? I GOT ALL THE PERMITS AND SHIT!"

"DON'T TAKE MY BABY!"

"TENSEI, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

* * *

Bakugo was thankful he'd kept the change that had ended up in his pocket that morning, as well as the fact that the payphone staged in the corner of the waiting room allowed for overseas calls, with permission from an officer. He and the others were currently stuck at the police station, clad in quirk-dampening cuffs to one another. Katsuki had the unfortunate luck of being bound directly to Todoroki, who was trying to remain impassive, even as his normally impregnable demeanor was beginning to slip. He wouldn't be hearing the end of this from his father, or sister, possibly mother. Kirishima and Iida remained quiet for the most part, moping in their seats.

Bakugo dialed in the number and waited, huffing at how far they'd fallen in less than a day in town. Thankfully, his thoughts were interrupted as the line was picked up, the cheery voice of Ochaco sounding through.

" _Hello?"_

"Round Face, it's Bakugo."

" _Oh, hey! Where are you guys?"_

She sounded uncertain, but was going along with it anyway, for which Katsuki was thankful. "We're at the spa, just chilling out."

" _Oh, cool. Tsu and I are getting some sun. Is Deku around?"_

"Of course he's around! Why the hell wouldn't he be?"

" _I-I was just wondering why_ you're _calling me."_

"Um…" He quickly combed his mind for a convincing idea. "The wimp didn't want to tell you himself because he would feel too bad about not getting to spend that 'last night' with you, but we got comped an extra night at the hotel."

" _You did?"_

"Yeah, the suite's fucking amazing and all that, whatever. Point is, we were planning on staying the night, then heading back in the morning." On her end, Uraraka was concerned.

" _You want to stay an extra night? But the wedding is_ tomorrow _!"_

"Calm down, we'll head out early, take the first available flight, have a few hours for you to get ready for the stupid vows and whatnot."

" _Are you sure that's a good idea? Did Deku agree to it or did you threaten him? "_

An officer shouted from across the room. "Bakugo, Iida, Kirishima, Todoroki! Room 3!"

"Shit. Yeah, he's fine with it, god damn it! We'll talk later!" he hung up before Ochaco could get another word in. The four of them got to their feet and untangled the cuffs, awkwardly squeezing through the narrow path towards their assigned room to discuss with law enforcement.

* * *

The police had actually removed their cuffs upon reaching the opposite side of the table to them, leaving the heroes uncertain of what fate awaited them. The two officers in the room with them seemed rather calm, as well as sympathetic, politely directing the men to their seats. Once they were all settled in, the woman of the two laid down a file folder and glanced at her partner, who nodded, then addressed the four.

"Gentlemen. We've got some good news, some bad news, and some really terrible news." The foreign visitors exchanged looks. "The good news is we found your Mercedes." Iida and Kirishima were the only ones to show visible relief at this. "It's over at impound right now. We picked it up at 5 a.m. this morning… parked in the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard." The guys shifted uncomfortably.

"In the middle. That's weird," Eijiro quipped. The female officer shot him a skeptical look.

"Yeah, that is weird." She picked up a piece of paper atop the file. "There was also a note: 'couldn't find a meter, here's my secretary's number to deal with it.'" Eyes flew to Bakugo, who looked away indignantly. The male officer resumed.

"The bad news is, you stole David Shield's hero support vehicle from the government lockup up north." Todoroki raised a hand to this, calling for attention.

"Pardon me, sir, but how exactly did we accomplish that?" The man slid the file over to himself and rifled through a few pages.

"Says here you told the guards you were requisitioning it for hero activity and showed your licenses, but then drove off with it before they fully cleared you." Shoto lowered his hand, quite satisfied, if not ashamed, of the explanation. Kirishima chose to speak up again, almost afraid to do so.

"And… the terrible news?" The officers sighed, both glancing at the file before them. The female one decided to move it along.

"The terrible news is, based on the story you relayed to the arresting officers, we know what happened to you four." This got everyone's attention, including the aloof Bakugo, who replied to the woman.

"How the hell is that terrible?" he pushed. Both officers leaned forward and laced their fingers together, looking the guys in the eye.

"You mentioned you were robbed, as well as missing your memories of last night." They nodded. "Without any ID we can't confirm this officially, but if you're really heroes in Japan, I can understand why you'd be targeted." The boys were left confused, so their interrogators slid the file over to them, upon which they saw photographs of two men, likely in their thirties. "These two have been a thorn in the department for years. A pair of conmen who go around duping unsuspecting visitors of their valuables, documents, etcetera. We haven't been able to find their real names in any database, but they go by the name Blank Check." Iida had been reading through the report, looking up from it upon finishing the description.

"How do they accomplish this? What does it have to do with memory?" The male officer held a hand out to the picture on the right.

"Their quirks. The one on the right can remove a person's inhibitions, making them extremely vulnerable to further persuasion and in general have people let down their guard as they go nuts." He motioned to the other. "This one can capture memories from a specific time frame and seal them in an inanimate object. The memories remain there until the object is broken into enough pieces, or if all of its owners die." He pointed with his thumb toward some far-off room. "We've got a few of these 'vessels' in the evidence room. Most we manage to return to the proper victims, but a few we can never find again. It's really an atrocious situation."

The guys finally had their explanation. It all fit. They were clearly acting wildly different from their usual selves the other night, stealing cars and proposing, and the memory loss was the final nail in the coffin. They felt fine because there wasn't anything damaged by the process, the information had been surgically removed from their minds. This mystery had been solved, for the most part, but there was still one massive underlying worry that the gang all recalled simultaneously.

"What about our missing friend?" Iida inquired. At this, the officers grew uneasy.

"Right. We've never had a case where Blank Check has taken a hostage, so the likely scenario is that he simply got lost."

"Or killed!" Kirishima suddenly blurted out. Bakugo was quick to smack him upside the head, while the police continued.

"If he's a hero I'm sure he's fine. You tend to have good instincts. As far as this situation goes however, we can't have you four involved in searching for the culprits." They were clearly about to argue, so he cut them off. "As understandable as your positions are, the fact is that you still don't have ID or licenses of any kind on you. We can't prove who you are until we get in touch with your country's hero officials, and that isn't likely to happen until Monday."

The guys were crestfallen at the news, having already been through a roller coaster of a day, now being told they won't be allowed to support the search for Midoriya or the scum that robbed them.

"I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but listen, you're free to keep looking for your buddy on your own. Just stay away from any criminal activity, leave that to the pros we've got throughout the city. We'll contact you as soon as we've found your missing belongings. If you guys happen to find your vessel, just be sure to have all five of you touch it and it should return your memoires." It took a long while of the four of them staring at the table before one acknowledged their position, Iida sitting up straight and bowing his head towards the officers, insisting they understood, even as he and his companions' expressions clearly said otherwise.

With that, they were offered final condolences and sent on their way, at least looking forward to retrieving their rental car and continuing the search for Deku.

* * *

 ** _I had just now noticed I've been completely leaving out the second "I" in Iida's name, so I went back and corrected all the chapters. Super lucky no one mentioned it, how embarrassing that would be._**

 **HankFlamion18: It just felt so perfect, so yeah, I tossed her in here.**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: All of these will be addressed in due time, I swear. As for the next story, well that's a ways off so I'll keep it to myself.**

 **lostdog200: You're most welcome! Glad I nailed the sailor-mouthed SOB.**

 _ **Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!**_

 _ **next chapter:**_ **Crossing the Wrong Men**


	5. Crossing the Wrong Men

Crossing the Wrong Men

The guys were leaning and/or sitting against the porch of the impound office, begrudgingly waiting for a worker to bring their car around. It was nearing the evening, with no further information to go on in finding Deku. Attempting to settle his nerves, Iida excused himself to go grab some orange juice, leaving the rest in uncomfortable silence. That is, until Shoto noticed Eijiro staring off into the distance, expression dire.

"Kirishima, you okay?" The redhead sighed.

"I'm just worried. What if something happened to Midoriya? Something bad. What if he really is dead? What if some crazy hooker with succubus powers caught him wandering the streets alone at night? With his brain all messed up by that guys' quirk he wouldn't stand a chance!"

"OH MY GOD, STOP SHITTING YOURSELF!" Bakugo bellowed, his face almost hurting at how much he'd been shouting by now. "Deku is fine, he's super hard to kill, in case you forgot!" Eijiro only found minimum comfort in that.

"Well, why hasn't he called?" Todoroki held up a hand to stop a further retort from Katsuki, then turned to their depressed friend.

"We don't know, but we're going to figure it out." Just then, Iida walked back out, a bottle of OJ already half-drained.

"Overwhelming odds say our rental is beaten beyond recognition. It'll be yet another mark on our records, returning such a mess to the office, but what worse could we do?" he finished with dry sarcasm. Shoto understood Tenya's angst, but didn't let the insensitivity slip.

"Iida, that's enough, Kirishima is very worried. Let's not freak him out any more." The Engine user stiffened, then let his shoulders drop, looking at the ground in shame.

"I'm sorry, Kirishima." Eijiro waved him off, no harm done, as Bakugo got to his feet and faced them all.

"Look, losers, we'll search the car for clues and everything's gonna be okay, got it?" Before anyone could answer, they heard the sound of their vehicle's engine approaching from a line of fellow impounds. Anxiety filtered in again, as Iida covered his eyes.

"I can't watch. Just tell me what the condition is." He continued muttering about not looking as the Mercedes turned the corner and was brought before them, all eyes that were still uncovered widening in, mercifully, pleasant surprise. Aside from a fair bit of dust from the lot's dirt ground, the sedan was relatively unscathed. Tenya was practically glowing as he finally dared to look. Even Eijiro was uplifted.

"Wow. Alright."

"Oh, thank god."

Katsuki took the keys from the lot worker as he moved for the driver's seat. "You see? You idiots need to calm your shit. Get in."

* * *

The boys were driving back towards the Strip, passing several blocks of empty lots as they combed the car for clues. Bakugo checked the sun visor as he drove, though regretfully turned up nothing. He glanced towards the others.

"Anything?" Kirishima reached down between his legs.

"Hm, I got a cigar." Beside him, Shoto examined a black shoe, which Iida identified as a men's size 6 as it was handed to him. As they wondered how it ended up in the car, Eijiro picked up another item stuck to the seat, only to immediately freak out and instinctively throw it away.

"Oh, crap! Blech!" It unfortunately landed on Todoroki's arm, causing him to break composure as well. Iida adjusted his glasses as he looked to the back seat, watching the elemental wielder frustratingly attempting to fling the object back off without his hand.

"My word, that's a used condom!"

"No kidding!" Shoto retorted bitterly, finally succeeding in removing the disgusting item, only to have it land on Kirishima again. This went on for a another minute or so, the four of them shouting back and forth to one another as they frantically tried removing the contraceptive from the car entirely, with it eventually landing on Iida as well, then Bakugo, who lost it once he finally grabbed and blew the offending object out his window with a harsh explosion. He pulled the car into one of the empty lots on the side of the road, then turned to his companions with murder in his eyes.

"ALRIGHT, WHAT THE FUCK?! WE GOTTA GET THIS SHIT TOGETHER, YOU DAMN-!"

 _*Rumble*_

Everyone froze and went silent for a moment. "What was that?" Eijiro questioned, eyes darting back and forth. They heard the rumbling again, Shoto glancing towards the back.

"It's in the trunk." The guys all exchanged looks.

"Midoriya's in the trunk," Tenya stated plainly. Again, they freaked out, scrambling out of the car and rushing like madmen to the rear, Bakugo fumbling with the keys for the right button as the others all shouted at him to hurry. He cursed back at them as he found the right one, causing the trunk to automatically open. Kirishima and Iida's smiles of relief were immediately crushed, as a short, naked man jumped out, right onto the unsuspecting Bakugo, clinging to the man's upper body as he whacked him repeatedly with a crowbar.

While the three of them were losing it, Shoto briefly noted a strange reflective material permeating the air around them.

Katsuki raised his hands to the assaulter and attempted to blast him off, only to find his quirk unresponsive. A few more hits and his loss of balance from the man's weight brought him to the ground. The bizarre stranger from their trunk was quickly on his feet again, turning to Iida and jabbing his makeshift weapon into the hero's gut, sending him to the ground as well. Todoroki tried to shoot out ice and immobilize their attacker, but nothing happened, giving the naked one an opening to hit his side and have him reeling to the dirt. Finally, he turned to Kirishima, crowbar at the ready.

"Whoa! I'm with you, I'm with you!" the redhead shouted, holding out his hands in pacifism. The man, Chinese, if Eijiro's brain was paying enough attention from the sudden attack, twirled his weapon threateningly.

"You gonna fuck on me?" he demanded warningly. Kirishima struggled between backing away and holding his ground.

"Nobody's gonna fuck on you! We're on your side, this isn't your fault! I'll get you some pants, okay?" The Chinese man narrowed his eyes, crowbar wobbling uncertainly. He feinted retracting it, then hurled it at Eijiro, striking him in the forehead. As the Hardening user fell over crying out in pain, the nude stranger finally took off, gunning it down the open lot at impressive speed, leaving the four guys groaning as they used the car for support in getting to their feet.

"WHAT… THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Bakugo roared through his pain.

"I think I have internal bleeding." Iida called out, arms wrapped around his abdomen as he leaned on their vehicle. Everyone was panting as they gradually regained their bearings. "Who was that supposed to be?" Tenya turned to Eijiro, who was sitting against the front wheel, holding a hand to his bleeding temple. "Kirishima, you've gotten to the point where you harden on instinct when attacked, what happened?" The spiky-haired man shook his head, grinding his teeth from an oncoming headache.

"I don't know, man, it just… didn't activate." Bakugo clenched his fist, clearly still ticked.

"Same with my Explosion." Shoto chose now to speak up, moving around to join their side of the car.

"There were some kind of particles in the air when that man attacked. It was likely his quirk jamming ours." The others grimaced at their luck. Anyone else would've been annihilated by their combined raw power. Kirishima groaned as he laid the back of his head against the car.

"Man am I glad Aizawa didn't have that level of shutoff. Although, he would've lost intimidation points without the glowing red eyes and Super Saiyan hair." Katsuki stepped away from the car and turned to the others.

"Everyone just shut up! Let's go back to the hotel, and I'm gonna make a couple of calls. Maybe Deku's back there, asleep or some shit." The guys looked at each other, shrugging, deciding it was for the best. Iida helped Kirishima to his feet, then they all piled into the Mercedes, now feeling physically beaten alongside emotionally and symbolically.

* * *

They got a few looks, walking through the hotel hallways with dusty, ripped clothing, as well as specks of blood, but ignored them, much too spent to care. The gang closed in on their suite door, stopped just before reaching the door handle by Eijiro, who was uncertain.

"Wait, guys. What about the mongoose? What if he got out?" Bakugo let out a strangled breath and he placed hand to his forehead.

"Oh, fuck. I keep forgetting about the goddamn mongoose." The four stood there for a bit, contemplating what to do, until Katsuki had enough, taking hold of the handle. "Fuck it, come on." Hesitantly, they stepped into their villa, eyes peeled for their ferocious houseguest. Shoto frowned when his ears picked up on the audio streaming throughout the suite.

"Did we leave the music on?" Now on alert, they readied their quirks, carefully observing every corner.

"Don't make any sudden movements," Bakugo growled quietly, as the four moved towards the end of the hall. Unfortunately, despite their attentiveness, they were still startled when Katsuki ran into a largely-built man in a fancy suit and bowler hat.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?" The dark-skinned intruder furrowed his brow.

"No, who the hell are _you_?" before anyone could continue the questioning, a new voice interrupted them from the living room.

"Quiet, quiet!" The guys turned around, bringing their attention to another black man standing in the middle of the room, clearly enjoying the tunes blasting across the suite. With the moment of silence, the heroes finally recognized the song playing as Phil Collin's In the Air Tonight. Surprisingly, Kirishima's eyes went wide in shocked delight.

"Wayne Bastille?" The guys looked at him in confusion.

"You know him?" Todoroki inquired. Eijiro nodded fervently, flashing his sharp smile.

"Hell yeah, man! Not just a damn good boxer, but he's like the sickest tattoo artist in the western world! You should see some of this guy's work, it's like nothing you've ever seen before!" His eyes widened in epiphany. "Oh crap! How did I not think of it earlier? The mongoose, it's-"

"Shh!" Wayne interrupted the redhead's gushing, holding up his index fingers. "This is my favorite part coming up right now." As everyone watched, the man imitated the drum bit from the music with great enthusiasm, then proceeded to sing along, rather well, with the next lines of the song. He gradually walked over to the group, motioning for Kirishima to join in with him, which he did so, despite being a little nervous.

"Well I've been waiting for this moment… for all my liiiiiife, oh Lord~." As soon as the line was over, Wayne proceeded to slug Eijiro in the face, instantly flooring the hero while Iida and Todoroki worriedly knelt down to check on him, seeing he was out cold.

"Why the fuck did you do that!?" Bakugo fumed, his honest concern breaking through. Wayne's manager, they assumed, shut off the music with the room's remote and tossed it away.

"Mr. Bastille would like to know why his mongoose is in your bathroom." Iida stood up from the downed Kirishima, as Shoto was applying some ice to the hardening user's eye.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but that was completely unnecessary!" Katsuki jabbed a finger towards the unamused boxer/artist.

"Listen, jackass, the only one who beats Kirishima is-"

"Explain," the manager deadpanned, ignoring Bakugo's tantrum. The Explosion user growled in annoyance, but let it slide, if only for Kirishima's sake, not that he'd admit it.

"Alright look, some bastards drove us off our asses, then wiped our memoires, we have no idea what happened." Iida nodded in agreement.

"We experienced all manner of debauchery the previous night and now we can't find our friend." He let out a defeated sigh. "And if you wish to exact payback on us, please proceed, I don't even care anymore…" Bakugo raised an eyebrow at the once steadfast Iida, shaking his head in disgust at Tenya's sudden lack of backbone. Wayne's manager was equally perturbed, though more at the lot of them.

"Why the fuck would you wanna steal his mongoose?" Bakugo scowled back at him.

"Why the fuck do you even _have_ a mongoose? And with fucking laser beams!" Bastille folded his arms, his face giving the hero a hard look.

"For your information, punk, he helps me with my work, along with his sibling. My quirk is Damping, it weakens the effects of other quirks." The guys now understood why Kirishima took the blow to the head, again. "Combined with the trained little guy in y'alls bathroom, it lets me make the tats your buddy was talking about. Their lasers are unique in that their burns never fade from flesh if applied in the correct manner. Not to mention, they're animals with quirks, which you don't see every day. Hell, they're probably more famous than me."

Now informed of the gravity of their crime, Bakugo anxiously rubbed the back of his neck. "We tend to do dumb shit when we're fucked up." Wayne scoffed and shook his head.

"I don't believe these guys, man," he muttered to his manager, glancing around the room. Katsuki then realized something.

"Wait, how did you guys find us?" The manager reached over to one of the chairs in the room and presented them with what he had lying there.

"One of you dropped your jacket. Found it near the mongoose's cage this morning." Iida's pupils shrank.

"That's Midoriya's!" He was promptly tossed the jacket, which he caught.

"Yeah, Midoriya. His wallet and his room key is in there." Tenya examined the leather item, scanning its contents. His brow furrowed.

"Strange, Midoriya's ID and license are still here." Bakugo and Todoroki were shocked by this, stepping over to confirm. Upon seeing for themselves, Shoto looked up to their visitors.

"That's our missing friend."

"I don't give a fuck."

Bakugo's eye twitched but he pressed the questioning. "Did you see him?" Wayne pursed his lips.

"I was fast asleep," he answered firmly.

"Because if he was up, this shit wouldn't have gone down so smoothly," his manager finished. Wayne's expression suddenly softened, glancing towards his companion.

"Maybe one of the mongooses got him, like Omar." The guys' hearts skipped a beat, as the boxer's manager took off his hat and placed it on his chest.

"Respect."

"Wha…? What happened to Omar?" Iida asked, afraid of the answer. Bastille rebuked him with a hand wave.

"Oh, don't worry about Omar, he's not with us no more." Iida looked close to another breakdown, so Bakugo tried moving it along, using his best manners.

"Okay, look, I know this is asking a lot, but do you think there's any way we could go to your house and look around, see if there are any clues?" The response was quick, as Wayne's manager replaced his hat.

"Absolutely. How else you think we gonna get the mongoose back anyway?" The two began to walk towards the door. "Come on, champ." Todoroki blinked after them.

"I'm sorry?" The men paused, looking back at them.

"We're not gonna put it in the Bentley. You brought it here, you bring it back." He glanced at Wayne. "What you think, about 40 minutes?" The star artist nodded in agreement, then gave the guys one last look before following his manager out.

"Don't make me come back for him." With that, they were gone, leaving the hero's to their task. After standing around for a moment, their attention was brought to a groaning Eijiro, who was just waking up. They hurried over, helping him sit up. They could already see a black eye forming, though at least Kirishima's quirk wasn't completely off when he took the hit, lessening the severity of the swelling.

The next ten minutes were spent trying to figure out how to subdue the laser-wielding predator in their bathroom. It was at times like this that they wished Izuku's analytical mind was there to assist. In the end, it was decided Iida's speed and kicking force were the most suitable for knocking the animal out. He argued that, with a missing muffler, he couldn't control himself very well, along with being in a confined space. Kirishima was still dazed however, so the group had to settle for evasion over endurance.

Tenya carefully snuck into the bathroom, soundlessly opening and closing the door behind him. He peeked around the small amount of wall beside the exit, spotting the mongoose laying on the floor, chewing on the bathmat. He gulped, but braved on, reminding himself it was all for Midoriya's sake. He extended his mufflers.

Unfortunately, the animal heard it.

Iida's eyes widened as the creature snarled at him, its eyes trained between his like a laser pointer, preluding the more hazardous one to follow. Tenya let out a war cry as he activated Recipro Burst, bounding to the other side of the bathroom in the blink of an eye, avoiding the searing beams fired at him. True to his predictions, control was immensely difficult with an uneven amount of mufflers on each leg, but he powered through nonetheless, shooting towards the mongoose with his next step.

Outside the room, the guys heard their companion's roar, followed by a mess of beam blasts, bangs, and shuddering of the walls of their suite. They resisted the urge to go over and check on their friend, occasionally hearing Iida cry out in fear. Even Bakugo felt a pang of sympathy for the poor man, but distracted himself from it by putting his nose back in the magazine he was reading.

After finally slamming the tackled mongoose into a wall, Iida using his own body to soften the impact and avoid injuring the beast, the guys loaded it up on a baggage dolly and made their way out of the room and down to their car. They carefully nestled the mongoose into the backseat, Kirishima sitting beside it, pressed against his side, while the others had to squeeze three into the front. It was nighttime by now, as they drove down the lighted streets, entering a tunnel.

"That bastard said he was trained, so why did we even have to do this?" Bakugo chided from the driver's seat. Iida shifted in his, trying to give Todoroki some space between them.

"It was us that stole the animal in the first place, Bakugo. Therefore it's our responsibility to bring it back, as his manager said. Despite what we've been through, it's the right thing to do." Katsuki grumbled, but didn't retort. He did notice that Shoto was staring wistfully into the road ahead.

"The hell is up with you, IcyHot?" Todoroki looked down at his hand, which held Deku's wallet. He'd kept it on him, concerned with leaving it behind in the room.

"I'm… not sure. Our memories are gone, yet, I feel something, in the back of my mind, whenever Midoriya is brought up." He looked back out the windshield. "I had something on my mind since before we left Japan. I wonder it maybe… the two of us talked about it last night." Bakugo rolled his eyes, dismissing his earlier curiosity, while Tenya and Eijiro observed their friend thoughtfully.

"Hm, makes sense. Right before Iida, he's the one you always opened up to the most," Kirishima confirmed. Iida nodded in agreement, he and the others failing to hear something shifting in the backseat.

"Indeed. Once we find this vessel the officers mentioned you'll have your answer. Perhaps Midoriya still has his memoires even. He _was_ separated from us after-"

 _*Growl*_

"OH SHIT!" Kirishima shouted, slamming himself against the side of his seat. The mongoose let out a snarl and jumped, claws out as Eijiro struggled to keep it off him. While all occupants panicked, Bakugo found difficulty controlling the car, swerving across the lane. As Kirishima managed to throw the animal off him, it changed targets, a claw suddenly raking across Katsuki's neck.

"AGH! THE FUCKER CLAWWED ME!" The car came to a stop at the side of the tunnel, with everyone rushing to exit as a few lasers fired into the interior.

And so, unable to enter their vehicle any longer, the four of them ended up pushing the Mercedes uphill for the final leg of their journey. Kirishima, being their resident Hardening user, was tasked with sticking his arm through the driver's side window and steering as they went. Occasionally the mongoose would bite or claw at his jagged limb, but thankfully his endurance outlasted the vicious creature's assault.

About an hour later, they rang the doorbell at Wayne Bastille's mansion, his manager opening the door with a somewhat displeased look on his face.

"You're late." Bakugo shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Whatever. We had to push it the last mile." The man didn't seem to care, opening the door further for them.

"Come on in. Wayne's got something he wants to show you." The guys did so in short order, glad to finally have a chance to rest. The man they'd stolen from was waiting on a massive couch that ringed around a flat-screen on the wall, upon which was paused surveillance footage. The boxer/artist motioned for the guys to sit down, while his manager stood behind the couch, remote in hand.

"When we got back, we took a look at the security cameras." He hit the play button. Everyone watched as footage from outside the mansion was played, showing five clearly uncoordinated guys stumble on screen, laughing like drunken morons.

"It's Midoriya."

"Oh, thank god he's alive."

"That's our buddy! That's who we've been missing," Kirishima sounded off, grinning at Wayne's manager. The man grimaced and pointed to the screen.

"Why don't you just pay attention? I don't have all night." The redhead's enthusiasm faded instantly, doing as told. Unfortunately, the cameras played increasingly disturbing activities performed by the five heroes, which they had to sit through while the two men they'd inconvenienced watched. From taking a leak in Wayne's pool, to stealing his mongoose, to Bakugo wearing it around his neck like a fur boa, the remaining four of their group quickly spiraled into discomfort, listening to their own asinine laughter through the audio.

"By the way, where you get that crazy car from?" Wayne asked. When no one answered right away, Shoto bluntly spoke up.

"We stole it from government lockup." Surprisingly, Wayne smiled.

"Nice." He held out his hand. "High-five that one." Todoroki hesitated, then awkwardly held up his own hand to complete the gesture. The rest of the footage played out, the guys thankful it was over, as the TV was finally turned off.

"That's all we got," Wayne's manager proclaimed. Iida made to stand and bowed to the man.

"This was immensely helpful, thank you, sir." Kirishima stood as well, through clearly still feeling ashamed of what they'd done to the place.

"Yeah, really. Because now we know that our buddy Midoriya was with us at 3:30, totally alive." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "Listen, Mr. Bastille, I'm really sorry for all this. I could see in the video that it was my idea to take the mongoose, and that's just wrong." Wayne waved him off, though seemed happy at the man's words.

"Don't worry about it, man. Like your friend said, we all do dumb shit when we're fucked up. And uh, sorry about the punch, I was having a bad day, and not just because of you guys. We'll call it even." Eijiro blinked, exchanging glances with the rest of the guys.

"Even?" The artist nodded.

"Right, y'all don't remember. Last night your boy here saved my ass from a falling scaffolding. I was taking a walk on the Strip when some construction shit fell apart. This guy here shielded me at the last second." Kirishima was stunned, as were his friends. Wayne pointed towards his savior's shoulders. "I gave you that one as a thank you, after you told me all about your hero work back in Japan. Inspirational, man." Kirishima was at a total loss for words. Despite where he'd landed himself and the guys, he could only feel joy at knowing he'd been personally 'inked' by such a celebrity.

"I…I-I, thank you!" he shouted with a bow. "I'm truly honored!" Wayne gave an amused grin, seeing the redhead was close to tears. However, he did have one last thing to say.

"Listen, about that lady of yours." Eijiro froze. "You went on real deep last night with your feelings, man. Some powerful stuff." He tapped a fist against his heart. "My advice, when you get back home, tell her I knocked some sense into you, and treat that girl right." Kirishima stared back at him for a long time, processing everything. He subconsciously lifted a hand to his chest, placing it above where Mina's name was etched into his skin. The Hardening user took in a deep breath, standing tall in the face of a man he admired.

"I will, sir! Man's honor!" Wayne smiled, completely genuine, then held out his hand, which Eijiro shook with utmost firmness.

"I'll be watching you, Red Riot."

* * *

There was barely a car on the road on the way back to the hotel, giving the guys a respite from their chaotic day. The interior was a wreck, practically every inch of upholstery was torn to shreds, and a few burn lines were visible on the roof. They didn't really care; it was the least of their worries, even if things were starting to look up. Bakugo was so drained he just let Iida drive, resting his head against his arm. The blonde sighed roughly, biting his lip.

"Alright, I think it's officially time we call Uraraka." Tenya briefly waved his arms in the air, as they were safely stopped at a red light.

"Hallelujah! Bakugo at last speaks with a moderate amount of sense." The Explosion user scowled at him.

"We don't have much of a choice, Four-Eyes! And maybe she's heard from Deku." Shoto added his two-cents from the back.

"We just need to be completely honest. Tell her everything." Iida stiffened, at once uncomfortable.

"We don't need to explain _everything_. We can leave out the part… about me, proposing… to a madwoman." Katsuki smacked his hand on the dash.

"Just stay focused on Deku!" Eijiro ran a finger through one of the burn trails.

"Man that rental place is gonna hate us." Bakugo groaned, having had enough of this. He turned to face the three in the car, completely spacing on the headlights fast approaching on his side.

"Look, we're big goddamn heroes. We can afford one screw up with a rental car, it's not gonna break the ba-"

 _*SMASH*_

"OH FUCK/SHIT/OH MY GOD/AHHH!"

The car was violently t-boned and shoved right into a nearby neon sign, the top portion breaking off and slamming loudly onto the roof, sparks flying everywhere. The four inside took a minute of screaming to calm down and ask if everyone was in one piece, after which their attention was drawn to the SUV that had rammed them. Several men got out, familiar ones; Chinese, giving the gang a bad feeling. A single set of footsteps against asphalt and broken glass made their way around the vehicle, until their owner stopped between his two thugs. Everyone felt their blood run cold.

"That's the guy from the trunk!" Kirishima exclaimed. Far less alarmed and much more pissed, the apparent leader of the group calmly lifted his hand and motioned forward.

"Get out of the car. Please." Following the demand, Todoroki narrowed his eyes at the other thugs.

"Those are the guys that chased us at the MGM." Bakugo was about to respond with an explosion to the angry Chinese man, only to see not even a spark escape his palm. It was then the guys noticed the reflective particles hanging in the air, communicating that their quirks were all but gone. The thugs' leader snapped his fingers.

"Let's go!" Before they knew it, the gang was being forcibly dragged out of the bashed-in doors of their sedan, at times cursing and at times insisting they could exit the vehicle themselves. Eventually, the four stood before their unwitting former hostage, flanked by the two grunts he brought with him. Once they were settled down, the leader motioned to himself with his finger.

"I want my purse back, assholes." They just looked at him in utter denial, except for Bakugo, who snickered.

"Pft, you have a purse?" The leader snapped his fingers again, which was followed by the thug closest to Katsuki kneeing him in the gut, getting the hothead to behave.

"Men can have purse. Okay? And you steal from wrong guy." He threateningly motioned to all of them, eyes narrowing further. Katsuki, enraged, and still wincing, just glared at the man.

"The fuck would we steal from you for?" Tenya stepped in to glaze over the blonde's abrasiveness.

"Let's all just calm down. Look, sir, we don't remember anything that happened last night, so please help us understand." One of their foe's henchman stepped up.

"Well, apparently, you guys met at a craps table late last night." He pointed to Kirishima. "You were on a heater, and he played your hot streak. He ended up winning just under 80 grand."

"Wow, 80 grand? That's awesome." Iida agreed, shrugging.

"Alright, that's wonderful for you." The thug wasn't done.

"He put the chips in his purse, and then you guys ran off with it." The leader held up a hand, fingers clenching, ready to crush something.

"I had 80 thousand dollars inside…" Todoroki decided to try his luck keeping the peace, stepping forward.

"Now, look, this was obviously a very simple misunderstanding. Kirishima wasn't right in his mind, picked up your purse by mistake. It's not a big deal." The Chinese leader scoffed in disbelief.

"Ok, if it's 'no big deal', why, when I come after you guys…" He points at Bakugo. " _He_ starts screaming like crazy and throw me in trunk?" Katsuki stared at the man.

"The fuck, I did that?" The henchman spoke up again.

"Yeah, you said he was your lucky charm, and you want to take him home with you." Bakugo looked like he was going to be sick, though it was interrupted when Eijiro couldn't stifle a laugh.

"Heh heh, lucky charm. Hahaha!" The Chinese leader somehow began laughing as well.

"Hahaha….fuck you," he ended in a deadpan. His next words came slowly and methodical. "If you want to see your friend again, you get me my 80 grand." At this statement, the guys collectively gasped.

"You have Deku?" Bakugo snarled, stepping up to the man. The other thug banged on the SUV, drawing attention to a tied-up figure in the backseat, trying their best to shout through a bag over their head.

"Deku/Midoriya!" The guys all rushed to the vehicle, but were quickly stopped by their assailants, who restrained then shoved the four back over to their wrecked sedan.

"What do you want?" Iida demanded, trying to keep composure with his best friend mere feet away. The Chinese boss just casually wiped something off his chin, looking disinterested.

"Not so good now. Quid pro quo, douche bag."

"Excuse me?" Tenya replied in distaste. Todoroki took the opportunity to step back in.

"Look, we're very sorry, but this is an easy fix. Kirishima, where's the purse?" Eijiro shrugged, looking at his friend like he was crazy.

"I don't know, man!"

"It must be in the hotel room," Iida declared. He looked to the boss. "We can get you the money, we can even write a check right now." He was cut off by a simple hand wave.

"No check. Cash only." Eijiro, quite frustrated by now, pointed towards the SUV.

"There's a _person_ in there!" The Chinese ringleader just brought a hand to his mouth, faking a yawn.

"Boring. Take nap. Come on," he motioned for his henchmen to follow. The guys pointlessly tried to argue and keep the man from leaving, but he ignored them, piling back into his ride without pause. Everyone was forced to back off as they pulled into reverse, then rushed back in as they moved to head down the street. The boss rolled down his window to address the infuriated Bakugo, not in the least intimidated.

"Bring money to Big Rock in Mojave Desert at dawn."

"What?" The window began to roll back up.

"Toodle-oo, motherfucker." Katsuki continued to throw insults as the SUV finally pulled away, speeding into the night while the particles around the area finally dispersed.

* * *

The four heroes spent a good hour combing through their hotel room for the purse, digging through dense heaps of trash and half-eaten food to find the boss's belongings. It became evident, after turning the suite upside down, that even if the purse had been in the room, it was likely stolen by the same scum who robbed them. The four collapsed into the messy chairs clustered in the living room, feeling utterly defeated and hope in short supply. Looking for any means to move forward, Shoto turned to Tenya.

"Iida, how much do you have on that card?" The bespectacled man sighed, clearly not in any state to feel better.

"About 10 grand, not nearly enough. That vile cretin would likely give us just Midoriya's leg if we tried handing it over." They shuddered at the thought. Following this exchange, Iida began fiddling with his own leg, gloomily examining his desecrated calve. Kirishima happened to be watching him, his brain grasping at the ghost of an idea.

 _Quirk races, my friend. Illegal night runs across the city. They pay big cash to the winner._

"Wait…" The others all turned to him, by this point accepting any and all suggestions. The redhead actually grinned his impressive teeth as he stood up and walked over to Tenya, determination rising with every passing second. "Iida, we need you to run."

* * *

 ** _Not sure why but I'm not a fan of how this one turned out. Too much dialogue maybe? Well, I'll hear about it later. But we're halfway through the story!_**

 ** **lostdog200: I'm glad I'm accomplishing my main goal, thank you!****

 ** **HankFlamion18: Yeah, I couldn't think of anything to replace Chow, he's hilarious enough in his own right.****

 ** **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: I tweaked him a bit, but relatively the same guy. Thanks for the support!****

 ** **DiRunner: So happy to hear that.****

 _ ** **Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!****_

 _ ** **next chapter:****_ ** **Midnight Run****


	6. Midnight Run

Midnight Run

No words, only activity buzzed about in Pedro's garage, each and every occupant doing whatever was necessary to prepare for the race they'd be attending in just under an hour. Hatsume had her goggles pulled down, touching up a soldering job on the baby that had attached to Iida earlier. Pedro himself was standing nearby, providing her with parts when she called for it. Bakugo, Kirishima, and Todoroki were in the office, suiting up in generic pants and hoodies, as well as soaking their hair in temporary dye so it'd be entirely black. Finally, Iida was simply standing in the middle of the garage, performing breathing exercises in his tracksuit. Several empty cans of orange juice lay on the floor beside him.

A few minutes later, Mei's soldering torch went dim, the inventor tossing the tool aside and pulling her goggles to her forehead, that ever-enthusiastic grin immediately visible as she took hold of the device and held it up like, well, a baby. "My work is complete!" she boasted, drawing the attention of everyone in the shop. She made her way over to Tenya, who finished his physical preparations and turned to acknowledge the woman. As Mei placed her creation gently on the floor in front of the Engine user, the rest of the guys emerged from the office, joining the gathering.

"Excellently done, you three. I hardly recognize you," Iida complimented with a smile. Eijiro gave a thumbs up, while Katsuki just scoffed, jamming his hands into his pockets. He noticed Hatsume and Pedro standing nearby.

"Why aren't you two in disguises?" he demanded. The garage owner waved him off.

"We won't be anywhere near the race, homes. We'll be watching you here from a few drones flying around." Mei nodded vigorously in agreement.

"I'll have every angle I need to see my baby in action, and keep tabs on Tenya." Shoto suddenly thought of something, tilting his head slightly before addressing the inventor.

"Hatsume, why are you going so far in the first place? The only people seeing that thing will all be illegal racers." Hatsume grinned wickedly and waved a finger towards the fire-ice hero.

"This isn't for advertising, my dear Todoroki, this is a test run, and what better environment to see how much stress my baby can take than a down and dirty competition with no regulations and minimal rules." Kirishima paled slightly.

"Wait, you're basically betting Midoriya's and Iida's lives on tech you haven't even field-tested?" Mei nodded vigorously again.

"Indeed! Just as I have many times before when they helped me with my inventions." Everyone except Pedro sweatdropped. The unfazed mechanic just grinned and motioned to Mei while looking at Tenya.

"You got a good one here, ese. Fearless."

" _I'm_ the one who should be fearful!" the man sputtered back. His argument went unanswered as Hatsume reached out with her leg and pressed her boot on the button atop her creation, causing it to immediately spring to life, then onto Iida's chest. He was somewhat prepared for it this time, though was quickly surprised as the device began unfolding itself over him. A segmented frame swiftly snaked across his arms, legs, and back, clinging to his body as mesh, boosters, and various aerodynamic plates settled onto him.

When the process was finally complete, Iida stood clad in an impressive exoskeleton, experimentally moving his limbs to ensure he wasn't stiff wearing all that tech. The guys were admiring the design as Mei stepped up and began performing a few checks, personal space disregarded, as usual.

"Damn, that looks awesome!" Kirishima commented, while Hatsume asked Tenya to extend his mufflers. Upon sight of the engine parts, Eijiro was reminded of their friend's unfortunate situation. "Hey, how are you gonna run straight of you're missing one of those?" Mei was quick to answer in his place, obviously excited to speak of her baby.

"He won't need to worry about a thing. I adjusted the afterburners on the suit for his misbalanced leg using the calculations I had on his torque and maximum performance, adding the data into the internal processor. Tenya should have little problem running while the boosters compensate." Eijiro nodded, while Pedro cleared his throat, gathering attention.

"Alright, you guys, you won't know the layout of the course until you get to the meet. It could be a circuit or point-to-point. While Iida's legging it, you three will have to stick close and defend him from the other racers' crews." The hooded heroes blinked.

"Defend? The participants can be attacked?" Shoto inquired. Pedro nodded.

"Sí. This is a dirty business, man, hospitalization is typical. That's why they pay so much. Some teams go for attacking, while others focus on defense, it can be split too, but that usually stretches things too far." A few bangs from Bakugo's hands drew attention to the Explosion user, who was grinning maniacally.

"Then I'll just destroy those other idiots so that we're left unopposed!" Todoroki took hold of the hothead's shoulder, giving him a stern look.

"No, Bakugo, we have to stay unanimous with our strategy. It's best to make sure no one gets close to Iida." Katsuki scowled and threw Shoto's arm off of him.

"He's right, homes," Pedro began, uncertainty on his face. "I know you guys are strong and all, but these punks got some nasty quirks to mess with you. You're better off waiting until they come to you before hammering into them. It lets you keep tabs on Iida here." Bakugo was still clearly upset by being denied a rampage, likely to blow off some stress from the day behind them, but eventually relented and crossed his arms.

"Fine." With that settled, Hatsume finished her check on the suit's systems, standing back up and gazing at Tenya with a hopeful smile.

"Good luck, Tenya, I'll be watching you." There was a tinge of sadness in her voice that Iida caught, feeling somewhat ashamed for knowing the likely cause. The least he could do was give her a reassuring smile, after which Mei tapped a button on his chest component, causing a helmet to unfold from the back panel and construct itself around the Engine user's head, along with a visor to shield his eyes. The recently demoralized hero turned towards the garage exit, striking a determined pose.

"On this day, the disgraced hero Ingenium shall grasp the dark cloak of villainy cast upon him by sinister hands, and become the black knight destined to save the imperiled Midoriya at the cost of his own honor. I swear to you all, your efforts will not be in vain. Come, let us crush those feeble opponents who possess nowhere near the resolve we heroes of Japan have ingrained into our very souls!"

Kirishima held back tears at the speech, while Shoto merely nodded and Bakugo rolled his eyes. Mei's eyes were sparkling. Pedro just stared at the eccentric man, not used to Iida's personality.

* * *

It took no time at all to arrive at the starting position, the guys, along with the armored up Iida, joining the small crowd making final preparations before the race start. Every single degenerate and scum among them eyed the newly arrived group of four, glaring, blankly staring, or studying the technology Tenya had clad onto every part of his body. In turn, the heroes scoped out their rivals.

A few of the participants had no visual clues as to their quirk, simply wearing undistinctive outfits. One man was massive, with a slightly deformed upper body, another had actual wheels instead of feet. A woman, who gave Iida a rather sultry look, had some form of scales on just her forearms and hands. A few other speed-type mutations were seen, along with a plethora of others, which the guys assumed were the crews they'd be defending against.

As they merged with the mass of people, one man dressed in a blazer and smoking a cigarette stepped into their path, looking them up and down with little interest. He took another puff of his stick before lowering it to the side and knocking off the burned tobacco.

"You must be Pedro's guy." Iida nodded and said little else, having recalled the mechanic explain that the less said, the better. The smoker grunted in reply, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a mess of slim headsets. "Here, these'll give you the route in real-time. They'll only turn on the moment the race starts. If you break a rule they'll also self-destruct." Despite the severe statement, Tenya didn't show hesitation in taking the device and tucking it up under his helmet, where it hooked around his ear and across just under his cheek. The rest of the guys accepted theirs, doing the same beneath their hoods.

The smoker said nothing more, simply walking off to speak with a few shady thugs they assumed were his bodyguards, as well as a colorfully dressed lady who had a pair of flares tucked into her skirt. With nothing else to do, the four gathered around Iida's starting position for a last minute brief.

"Kirishima, you're sticking with me to keep up with Iida." Eijiro nodded to Shoto's intuitive suggestion. "Bakugo, you've got plenty of maneuverability, especially in the air, stick to higher ground to watch for incoming threats."

"Don't tell me what to-! Ugh, whatever." Their plan laid out, the guys turned to see the man from earlier step up to the starting line, garnering he attention of all those present. His eyes coasted over the lot of them, scrutinizing. After a moment, he took the cigarette out of his mouth and addressed the racers.

"For those of you who are new, we've got three rules. One, watch the collateral damage; I don't need the fuzz investigating a new hole in the side of a building, or scorch marks all over the street. Two, if the cops, or a hero, does show up, you evade only; same fucking principle. Three, racers can't attack each other, that's what your crews are for." He tossed away the butt of his stick and walked off to the side. "Start 'em off, babe." The flashy woman from before nodded and pulled the two flares from her outfit, setting them off as she got into position on the line. The racers, a dozen including Iida, fell in and prepared to dash away. The guys wished their Engine user luck one final time before taking their places, Kirishima riding with Todoroki up to a nearby rooftop on an ice pillar, while Bakugo blasted off and landed on the opposite side.

The lady waved her signals around.

3…

2…

1…

She flung them down together.

The twelve took off without delay, a significant amount of dust left in their wake as they charged past the starting line, nearly blowing the woman who began the race over. Not wasting any time, Shoto rapidly fabricated an ice path at his and Kirishima's feet, surging them after the already ahead racers. Bakugo blasted past his fellow heroes, explosions propelling him above the street directly, looking down on the others with preying eyes and a devilish grin. A slight humming amidst his detonations drew his attention to the right, seeing a hovering drone with a mounted lens; clearly one of Hatsume's cameras. He ignored it, dive-bombing towards the loosely bound group of speedsters already approaching their first turn.

Below, kicking up asphalt with every step, Iida had his attention split between watching the path before him and keeping an eye on the surrounding opponents. Although they couldn't attack one another, disruption was something else altogether. Rather than an actual map, the headpiece mounted on the side of his face displayed a holographic beacon to the next checkpoint in the course, letting him know where to go. Passing through the first one showed that the next would appear soon after, preventing anyone from cutting ahead in the race.

To Tenya's delight, the exoskeleton was performing its job perfectly. The boosters were compensating for his misbalanced thrust, while the sleek design had him feeling much more agile than his typical hero costume. Perhaps after all this, he could have a few words with Mei, and also give an apology. Unfortunately, his thoughts were broken by the oncoming turn, too sharp to simply swerve into. Instead, he shifted direction and flipped onto an adjacent wall, applying a few acrobatics with his quirk and pushing off the perpendicular surface to instantly start blasting in the new direction. His competition manage the abrupt turn as well, with varying degrees of success.

Surprisingly, there was one contestant who was ahead of him already. Every second or so, an electrical charge vaguely in the shape of a humanoid would jump from streetlamp to streetlamp, or telephone wire, or payphone, following a trail of electronic equipment along the sidewalk. Iida bit his lip, seeing a problem arise so early in the race. His ears caught the sound of a deep rumbling directly behind him, his visor's built-in rearview showing the racer with wheels for feet gradually gaining on him, along with a mutation user who appeared to have the characteristics of a gazelle. Just then, to his right, Tenya barely saw another opponent slide past him, as if the street was made of butter.

In his moment of distraction, Iida failed to notice a scaled hand lightly grasp his shoulder. Instantly, the Engine user found his speed faltering, even as his boosters continued firing on all cylinders. Craning his neck to look, he caught the tail-end of a smirk from the woman earlier, who blew past him and was quickly upon the man sliding on the asphalt. She touched him as well, causing the same slowdown Iida experienced. Tenya grimaced as he desperately tried to build up speed again, concluding that the lady's quirk allowed her to steal momentum on contact.

Away from the street, Todoroki was doing his best to keep up with the dozen racers vying for the front, eyes peeled for their enemy crews. Eijiro kept his sights on Bakugo, secretly worried he'd try attacking the rather convenient cluster of competitors in the center of the pack. The Explosion user was actually paying close attention, though gave enough room for thought as to how pitifully Iida was doing as several foes got the better of him.

Suddenly, Katsuki's eyes widened, seeing an incoming swarm of what looked like metal insects the size of footballs flying at him. Halting his movement blasts, he took but a moment to fire his Auto-Cannon technique at the incoming threat, tearing the mechanical bugs to pieces instantly. Upon emerging from the other side of the resulting smoke cloud, Bakugo growled upon seeing another several swarms approaching. Cursing at how annoying they were, he chose to simply gun it and blast his way through the obstruction.

Shoto and Eijiro noticed the commotion in the sky, watching swaths of metal insects cut down with each explosion their friend unleashed. Obviously they weren't meant to stop him completely.

"It's a distraction," Todoroki surmised, scanning the skies ahead. "They're trying to keep our attention from Iida." He at last spotted the perpetrators, a massive, clearly unnatural wasp hovering further down the street, with a man riding upon its back. Dozens of mechanical drones were emerging from his back, while he grinned sinisterly at Bakugo's distant form blowing the creations to bits. Seeing the Explosion user adequately distracted, he moved his sight below to the racers. To the guys' displeasure, he began raining down servos onto the street, similar mechanical constructs with legs instead of wings that scurried along towards the dozen. Noticeably, the man with wheels backed off from the group.

"Crap! Todoroki, get us down there! Bakugo can deal with the bug guy, but we've got to keep Iida safe!" Agreeing with Kirishima's observation, Shoto angled their ice path down towards the sidewalk, coming in at an angle to hopefully intercept the mob of bots before they met with the runners. Once they were close enough, Shoto extended his hand to fire out more ice, however he saw an incoming projectile out of the corner of his eye, panicking that it was approaching too fast to avoid. Luckily for him, Kirishima acted as human shield, blocking the incoming missile, allowing it to harmlessly detonate against his hardened skin.

His hoodie was shredded a fair amount, but it was better than having Shoto take the hit. The originator of the missile, who had apparently fired it out of his barrel-like arms, was running across the rooftop opposite them. He cursed and fired another, causing his final mistake. Kirishima had Shoto launch him towards the projectile with an ice pillar, at which point he hardened his fist and put it through the missile as he sailed over it. With some positioning, the explosion propelled him right at the attacker, who could only gasp in fright before the hero slammed him in the head with a hardened kick. His assault complete, he jumped and rode a newly created ice slide back to Todoroki's platform.

Now without concern, Todoroki flash-froze the ground at the approaching servos' feet, encasing the robots in an instant. He and Eijiro continued on, the threat neutralized. Back in the sky, the one producing the bots growled upon seeing the ground force put on ice.

"Damn them! Fine, I'll just send more- Eh?" Nothing more emerged from his body, causing the man to sweat. "Shit, I'm out of parts! Retreat!" The wasp he was riding on nodded, buzzing its massive wings to turn and pull ahead to try another method of attack. Unfortunately, neither of them noticed Bakugo zoom out of the smoke cloud he'd produced annihilating the airborne bots. He flew across them in a blur, just barely registered in their eyes as he brought his hands close and grinned manically.

" _Point-blank Stun Grenade!"_

Even the racers below in hot pursuit of first place spared a glance at the overwhelming brightness that followed Bakugo's attack. The glare nearly made it impossible to see the next beacon. Eventually, the light faded, and was followed soon after by a loud crash on the street far behind them. The wasp was on its back, legs curled in as if it were dead, its partner groaning in pain atop its upturned belly, still squeezing his eyes shut from the blinding burst. Soon enough, the wasp transformation faded, now showing two semiconscious thugs piled on top of each other.

Kirishima whooped in excitement as Bakugo returned to a stable altitude above the street, eyes zeroed on Iida, who had managed to move back up to the leaders. Finishing his little celebration, Eijiro spotted the wheel quirk user nervously rejoining the rest of the runners, causing the disguised redhead to smirk.

"Hey, Todoroki, let's return the favor now that his backup is toast." Shoto nodded in agreement, holding out his left hand to the street in front of the singled out competitor. Raising the heat to near his maximum, the fire-ice user baked the tarmac below with his flames, destabilizing the surface as steaming tar emerged soon after. The wheel-footed man had nowhere to go, his tires quickly becoming caked in repulsive black goop that acted as a glue trap. His speed nullified, the two heroes left him be to find his way out.

"This road looks like it could use some work anyway," Shoto commented, earning a chuckle from his companion. Before they could celebrate too much however, Eijiro felt a strong force wrap around his waist.

"What th- AH!" Todoroki swung around to see what had happened, only to observe Kirishima slammed into the ground by an outstretched limb from one of the racers, who was using his freely extendible body to pull himself down the street at impressive speeds. He cackled as he left the hero in the dust, turning another corner and out of sight.

"Kirishima!" Shoto called, slowing his ice path as he considered going back for him. However, the Hardening user stopped him.

"Go on! Keep Iida safe! I'll find another way to you guys!" Todoroki acknowledged, rushing ahead as he used his fire side to warm himself up.

* * *

Iida was worried, not seeing either Kirishima or Todoroki anywhere in range. The rest of the racers' crews had begun their assault, having held back as the first one tested the waters or some such. Now they were in full-on attack, since Tenya's clearly combat-experienced team was weakened. Not that they only went after him, of course. He was currently in fourth place, gradually slowing down in fact. The reason being was the racer directly behind him, or maybe on him? Whatever the case, Tenya was basically running through a sandstorm, which his opponent could apparently transform into. The howling wind was distracting enough, but the grains accumulating in the crevices of his suit, along with his teeth and ears, were another irritant altogether. He wasn't sure how the environmental hazard would affect Hatsume's technology, but wasn't willing to find out.

Chancing it, Iida triggered his Recipro Burst, blasting the sand covering his body far away and breaking away from his oppressive competition. He took advantage of his speed boost to fly past the frictionless runner, who was distracted enough by the sudden overtake that he failed to avoid an incoming enemy crewmember, who trapped him in a massive bubble, his quirk useless in a prison that was already plenty slippery.

Iida moved for his Recipro to die down as gently as he could, allowing the exoskeleton's afterburners to take over his acceleration until his claves cooled down. He was thankful years of training ensured he was never completely stalled, but he was depending entirely on the experimental tech for the next minute or so. Above him, Bakugo was at capacity, using concussive blasts to deflect all manner of quirk weaponry away from the Engine user. It was clear that the vast majority of teams didn't care about defense, instead opting to take out the competition by any means.

An upside to this was that Tenya would be facing fewer opponents as the race dragged on. They were entering a small industrial district, the land dotted with factories, construction sites, and dormant machinery awaiting the morning shift. He noticed the electricity racer make a long jump from a streetlight all the way to a construction crane on the corner of the block, then make a beeline for the traffic signal beside their next beacon. It was here that Tenya noticed a few civilian vehicles stopped at the red light, evidently a couple of nightshift workers heading home.

The occupants panicked upon seeing the oncoming horde of runners, ducking beneath their dashboards. Iida leapt over the car in front of him, avoiding any damage. The sandstorm however, which had reformed, surged through the vehicle with unrelenting force. The gale of grains managed to thrown the cars out of their lane, bashing them into one another. Tenya was tempted to reprimand the living storm, but found it unnecessary a moment later, as a raincloud appeared above its head, a quirk at work. In a matter of seconds, the sparsely composed racer slowed, then clumped back together, his now human form slumping to the floor in strain, unable to move anymore due the water he'd absorbed.

No sooner had this transpired that Iida saw the electricity jumper hop into a payphone, then try jumping into another civilian vehicle that was cruising down the road. He never made it, as a metal rod suddenly impaled itself between the hopper and his target, grounding him immediately and forcing him into corporeal form. He was swiftly knocked out by a crewmember with an elephant's trunk before he could recover.

Now comfortably in second, Tenya made his way towards the leader, the woman who kept stealing others' momentum. She was rushing to each car that happened to be in her path, gathering more and more forward speed as she went. Thankfully, Iida's engines were back in action. Glancing at the remaining distance on his headpiece's display, the man prepared to activate Recipro Turbo, figuring it was the only way to get past the leader without her snatching his speed. A sudden blunt impact against metal drew his attention however, turning his head just enough to see the lady with a gazelle quirk smack into a car, tumbling across the street until she came to rest, barely conscious, by the sidewalk.

Confused, Tenya let his guard down as a hand was pressed to his back. No sooner had he realized the contact that his body suddenly shifted jarringly in space, reappearing right in front of another car. Iida panicked and tried to jump, though still smashed into the back window and tumbled across the roof of the vehicle, finally toppling onto the hood. The driver freaked out and swerved, heading straight for a light post.

To the rescue came a rush of ice, which encased the car's chassis and practically welded it to the street. Tenya was thrown off by the enduring inertia, but found a surprisingly pleasant landing against a curved ice slide, which allowed him to regain his bearings and flip onto his feet, looking over his shoulder to see Todoroki close by, giving the Engine user a short wave. Iida wondered where Kirishima was, but remembered how close the race end was, choosing to trust his team knew what they were doing.

Catching back up, Tenya found the remaining racers and their crews duking it out, while Bakugo seemed happy to watch them kill each other with his charge nowhere nearby at the moment. This changed when Katsuki spotted Tenya moving up again, his amused grin fading into a grimace, as he propelled himself down by the man, keeping speed with him.

"THE FUCK ARE YOU MESSING AROUND FOR?! GET GOING!" Bakugo grabbed Tenya by the collar and threw him forward, adding an explosion for extra thrust. Somehow, the current Ingenium stuck the landing, wasting no time in activating his super move, his speed multiplying in an instant, while Bakugo almost absentmindedly blasted another enemy. As the Recipro Turbo enhanced Iida practically vanished down the road ahead, Katsuki suddenly realized there was no one covering their racer's back. Cursing, he held his arms back and prepared to blast off.

This was interrupted by a pair of stretchy arms coiling themselves around his and pulling. However, before even Bakugo could react, he felt the temperature drop. The extendable limbs retraining him were quickly coated in ice, halting any chance at the Explosion user being yanked back. Bakugo tore himself free, scoffing in his usual mood as he set his crimson eyes on his fellow hero.

"I didn't need your damn help, IcyHot."

Todoroki walked past Katsuki without so much as a retort, simply generating a new platform of ice to move upon. In the distance, the two could hear police sirens, likely as a result of a car occupant phoning the authorities.

"And where the hell is Kirishima?!" Shoto gave the man a glance before taking off.

"We got separated, but he insisted he'd find his way." With that, he took off in a blitz of frosted energies, leaving Katsuki to tsk before throwing back his hands and flying after him.

* * *

Iida closed in on the last obstacle before the leader; what he analyzed to be a short-range teleporter, the man seeming to flicker in and out of reality, his actual speed minimal. He played dirty, as evidenced by the gazelle quirk user and his own collision with a motorist, taking advantage of the fact that although attacking was out of the question, disruption was fair game. But Tenya had a plan. Recipro Turbo would easily carry him to the end of the line, but he knew the moment the teleporter made eye-contact, he'd be able to warp to him instantly. Ingenium didn't want to think what damage would be done at this speed if he were suddenly aimed at another car. Thankfully, the latest set of beacons had dragged them to an outskirt by the desert, with not a vehicle in sight. The most out here were a few defunct telephone poles, their wires long salvaged for raw material.

The split second Iida passed him, his foe took notice, scowling as he teleported to the Engine user's backside, reaching out to tap him and send him rushing into the nearest ditch or the like. Unfortunately for him, Tenya anticipated the point of contact, his exoskeleton reacting perfectly as he tucked in. The thrusters all along his suit reacted immediately, adjusting power to compensate for Iida's knew position. The teleporter tripped up, falling chest first into the balled-up Ingenium, crying out in fear as he was sucked up into the rapidly oscillating hero and sent through a spin cycle. Unable to hang on for very long, the opposing racer was thrown off, hurled straight into one of the wooden poles barely holding together. The object snapped like a twig as the man impacted with it, his dazed and dizzy figure toppling to the ground with a weak exhaust of breath.

Iida gritted his teeth, the centrifugal force threatening to pull him apart as his engines accelerated his spin. The stress was surely what Hatsume had wanted to see, but even so his suit could be torn to pieces any moment. He bounced off of whatever significant object he could along the street, from random boulders to the remaining telephone poles. The outskirts were coming to an end, and Tenya finally rounded a corner at high speed and passed another beacon, though he could barely register the achievement in his state.

Another turn led Iida straight into a block containing an old fastfood joint, his control so deteriorated that he flew right into the establishment's dumpster, causing the dilapidated container to explode and fire what Tenya could only assume were expired onion rings all over the place. The slam was enough to finally pull him out of his curled-up state, skidding across the parking lot in a daze. He thought it was over, that he as far too off track to catch up to that woman, that any moment he would loss the last of his control and tumble into a nearby wall.

No sooner did the thought finish its pass through his mind that he found his legs sliding on ice. Gasping, Tenya looked up to see a ramp of frozen water obstructing the wall he'd been worried about, his eyes just catching the image of his dear friend traversing the obstacle himself on an icy platform. A few bangs in the distance alerted him to Bakugo's presence as well.

"WHAT DID I LITERALLY JUST TELL YOU A MINUTE AGO, FOUR-EYES!? GET OFF YOUR ASS AND FINISH THIS!"

In no state of mind to argue, Tenya stabilized himself with his bare hands, feeling the stabbing chill of the ice, but ignoring it as he let out a fierce bellow and fired his engines to maximum, the heat evaporating what frost was behind him. The ramp did its job as his speed climbed like wildfire, rocketing him right at the next beacon checkpoint and on track to complete the race. He landed on his feet, companions flanking him on either side, as his eyes focused on the street ahead, seeing the scale-clad woman up ahead. It seemed that without any other racers left, her own momentum was falling, unable to leech off of others.

Her weakness was not without a cover, as he two remaining crewmembers spotted the approaching trio and went on the defensive, one putting up an energy shield from his hand, and the other producing metal rods from his arms, crossing the to act as a barrier. Shoto and Katsuki didn't care, using the full extent of their raw power to smash into them with a flurry of fire and detonations. The pair was knocked-out before they even hit the asphalt, Iida charging past them as they skid to a halt, coughing out puffs of smoke.

Tenya's goal was in sight; the finish line just ahead. The momentum thief looked over her shoulder, seeing the approaching hero. Her smile revealed she knew touching Iida at his current speed would instantly win her the race, a prospect worth betting her final move on. She broke off from her straight run and reached out her hand, the turbo hero just seconds away from overtaking her.

Her scaled fingers extended, about to brush his suit's shoulder pad.

Her grin widened into sinister confidence.

…

Her figure vanished… left behind along with a very unpleasant sound of someone's cranium hitting something very solid. Iida didn't bother seeing what happened, continuing on to finish what he started.

Standing victoriously over the likely concussion-ridden lady, Kirishima's Unbreakable form just grinned its jagged teeth, chuckling victoriously at felling the final threat. Bakugo and Todoroki decelerated upon nearing the triumphant hero, though their expressions didn't display any show of excitement.

"That was… interesting," Shoto commented. Eijiro laughed, rubbing the back of his head as he dropped his hardening, his voice losing its scratchiness.

"Sorry I was late. It took a while to figure out the route based on all those checkpoints Iida was running. I had to book it down like a dozen different alleys, and change directions a bunch too. You guys and your mobility quirks have it easy. I'm just good at holding my ground." Katsuki glanced down at the unconscious woman.

"Clearly," he deadpanned. Just then, the guys' headpieces beeped, a green light flashing across their views. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

A few blocks away, Iida had successfully crossed the finish line. Allowing himself to collapse to the ground, arms and legs spread out, panting and sweating like a pig. He wanted to lay there forever, maybe wake up and realize this entire ordeal was a crazy dream, maybe just die, or let the impending police force arrest him and toss his disgraceful rear end in solitary confinement. Before the negative fantasies could get too horrific, Tenya found the faces of his three companions pop into his peripheral, all studying him with varying degrees of concern. Shoto's phone suddenly rang.

"Hello?" he answered.

" _Todoroki! Pedro just confirmed the funds cleared! Get back here with Tenya before the cops find you guys!"_

Indeed the sirens were much louder now, and flashes of blue and red could be seen over the horizon. Knowing it was time to go, Bakugo unceremoniously picked up the exhausted Iida and slung him over his shoulder, hearing no protest. Shoto assured Mei that they were on their way, then hung up. He joined the others in rushing for a nearby alleyway, taking one last look at the scene behind him. It hadn't ended all that badly, really. The ice would melt as the day began, and the police would find plenty of dazed and knocked-out criminals to toss in the slammer, courtesy of Japan's finest.

* * *

 ** _I am so sorry guys, I hit some major writer's block, and my sleep schedule was also thrown out the window this week. Thankfully, Horikoshi Sensei came to the rescue with a new manga chapter, filling me with renewed hype and inspiration. I was actually super tired while writing most of this, so I hope it at least went decently. Thanks for your patience!_**

 ** _I wasn't really sure how to take a two minute montage of blackjack and make it into an interesting chapter, so here's this instead! Ugh, so tired... need sleep..._**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: Yeah, wasn't sure how to adapt that, so, originality!**

 **HankFlamion18: Yeah, maybe if I thought harder I could've made a decent gambling chapter, oh well.**

 **Crow's Apprentice: Glad you like it!**

 **Order of Alignment: I think I did! Maybe? I was like half-conscious.**

 **billythekid256: I'm so happy to hear I brought the laughs!**

 **trollzor69: I will!**

 **lostdog200: Yeah, at certain points I don't feel like rehashing every little detail, but then, other times I do? So inconsistent, aren't I?**

 _ **Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!**_

 _ **next chapter:**_ **Revelations**


	7. Revelations

Revelations

Iida and the guys had returned to an ecstatic Mei Hatsume upon stumbling back into Pedro's garage. Setting the now somewhat recovered Tenya on his feet, Bakugo had but a second to back away before the Engine user was immediately pulling into a soul-squeezing hug by the pinkette inventor. He didn't bother resisting; in fact, he returned it wearily, glad to just be off the streets. It wasn't easily visible, but Mei blushed at the gesture.

The few waning hours of night they had remaining were spent crashing on a few couches and chairs Pedro had in the back, knowing they'd need a clear head for the tense exchange happening at sunrise. The guys downed a few energy drinks once they were up, Pedro gave them their cut, even as Bakugo argued they deserved the pot, while Iida countered that they wouldn't have even been able to enter had the man not used his connections. Now they were on their way, blazing through the early morning desert with the 80 grand in tow.

Bakugo pulled the Mercedes off the dirt road and onto a large flat, spotting the Chinese thugs' SUV in the distance. None of them said a word as they neared the solitary vehicle, Iida's grip on the bag of money tightening, while the others all grew restless, noticing the reflective material hanging in the air again, reminding them not to try any funny business with the agitated man they'd apparently stolen from. Bakugo stopped the sedan a good few car-lengths away from the Chinese, waiting for something to happen. They remained, sitting for another minute, unsure what to do.

"Now what?" Katsuki growled, growing impatient. Kirishima leaned forward, eyes serious.

"Give him the signal." Bakugo turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What fucking signal?"

"Flash your lights. Let him know it's on."

"What's on?"

"The deal!"

"Of course it's on! We just drove 30 fucking miles into the desert! He'd better know it's on!" Iida rubbed his forehead.

"Bakugo, please, just do something." Katsuki scoffed, but obliged, clicking the lights a few times. Sure enough, the Chinese exited their SUV soon afterward, though Bakugo ignored Eijiro's smug grin, getting out of the car along with the rest of the guys. The two groups stood in front of their respective vehicles, taking a moment to size up one another. The boss seemed to want them to begin, his face obviously set in a glare, even if his eyes were hidden behind a pair of aviator sunglasses. Bakugo matched him as he cautiously took a step forward.

"All right, we got the money. Eighty grand, cash." The leader motioned with his hand.

"Throw it over. Then I give you Deku." Before Katsuki could reply, Iida cleared his throat, putting on a polite demeanor.

"I'm sorry. First of all, good morning. And we didn't catch your name last night." The Chinese boss seemed to placate them for the time being, responding calmly.

"Mr. Chen. Lazlo Chen." Tenya nodded respectfully.

"Mr. Chen, it is a pleasure. My name is Iida, and we would very much appreciate the opportunity to see Midoriya before we give you the money, just to verify that he is unharmed… if that's alright." To the guys' surprise, Chen's glare softened into an expression of understanding, as he casually took off his glasses and pocketed them.

"Of course, Iida, that is alright." He clapped his hands and uttered something in his native tongue, which prompted one of his thugs to go over to the backseat door and pull out their captive, still bound and bagged. The guys sighed in relief, seeing their friend alive and well. Lazlo offhandedly gestured to the man.

"See, he fine. Now give me money…" He pointed to his hostage. "Or I shoot him…" He made a sweeping gesture to the rest of the guys. "And I shoot aaaaall you motherfuckers, and then we take it. Your choice, bitches." Bakugo grit his teeth, but nudged Tenya in the shoulder.

"Give him the money, Iida." The Engine user nearly flinched, but understood this as Katsuki being serious, nodding.

"Okay." With one swift toss, Iida sent the bag flying the distance separating the two groups. Chen's other henchman caught it, taking a moment to dig inside and count the dough, everyone waiting anxiously for the verdict. He glanced at his boss once finished.

"It's all there." Lazlo waved them off.

"Let him go." The thug handling Chen's capture led the man toward the guys, who stepped forward to meet him, though remained on guard in case the Chinese had other plans. Finally, the henchman pulled the bag off 'Deku'. "Ta-da."

Revealing an African man that was certainly not Izuku Midoriya.

"Is this some kind of fucking joke!?" Who the hell is this?!" Bakugo seethed, desperately wishing for his quirk.

"That is not Midoriya," Todoroki added coldly. Chen looked genuinely confused.

"What you talking about, Two-Face? That him!" Iida contained himself better as he calmly answered.

"No, I'm sorry, Mr. Chen, that's not our friend."

"The Midoriya we're looking for is an Asian," Kirishima added, trying to be helpful. At this moment, the man still holding the captive's arms ripped off the tape covering his mouth.

"Ah!" He immediately turned his head to scowl at Chen. "I told you you had the wrong guy, little boy!" he was shoved over to the guys' side, instantly taking his place by Eijiro. "At least it's good to see you're ok, Kirishima." The heroes exchanged looks.

"You know him?" Bakugo demanded. The redhead took a few seconds to study the strange man, before his eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh yeah! This is the guy who recommended me the beer we did our rooftop toast with. How you doing?" he asked with a smile. Shoto suddenly took steps towards the apparent not stranger, narrowing his eyes.

"Are you involved with Blank Check? Did you scout us out for them?" Kirishima held a hand up to keep Todoroki at bay, trying to keep the peace.

"Who gives a shit!?" Bakugo turned to Lazlo, eyes burning with rage. "Where's Deku!?"

"I _am_ Deku!"

The heroes looked at the black man next to Eijiro, stunned.

"Your name's Deku?" Kirishima questioned. The other man shrugged.

"I mean, not my real one, everyone's just called me that since I was a kid, but yes, I'm Deku." Kirishima actually found himself chuckling, turning to the guys with a toothy grin.

"He's called Deku too. Ha, classic mix-up!" Disinterested in the heroes' identity issues, Chen turned to leave.

"Come on," he signaled to his thugs. Katsuki angrily took a few steps after them.

"Hey, Chen! You gave us the wrong Deku!" The Chinese boss lazily brushed him off.

"Not my problem." Bakugo stomped on the dirt ground, kicking up a cloud.

"No, fuck that shit! Now, you give us our 80 grand back and take him with you!" The other man known as Deku looked a bit hurt by the blonde's outburst, but kept quiet. Lazlo actually acknowledged him, turning to address the Explosion user.

"Oh, yeah, okay. Oh, I take him back, uh, right after you suck on these little Chinese nuts!" He pulled at his groin, as the guys looked away in disgust. "Mmm, how that sound?" Chen made a crude follow-up gesture with his hand and private area, then turned away again, flippantly waving them off. "So long, gay boys!" He got in the SUV as his comrade cranked the ignition, then the vehicle pulled away in a hurry, leaving the guys staring after him in mixed frustration and despair. Once they were out of sight and range, the obstructive jamming disappeared, a change immediately noted by two massive explosions from Bakugo's hands

"GODDAMN IT! SHIT!"

* * *

 _*Ring, ring, ring*_

" _Hello?"_

"Uraraka, it's me." Katsuki began.

" _Bakugo? Where are you guys? I'm freaking out!"_

"Yeah, listen. Uh… we fucked up."

While Katsuki was handling the dreaded phone call back home, the guys were hanging out by the car across the road, getting reacquainted with the second Deku.

"So, why do people call you Deku?" Kirishima inquired, leaning against the trunk. The man in question sighed, implying it wasn't a happy reason.

"Because of my quirk." Knowing they'd ask what it was, Deku looked over at a nearby signpost. Focusing on it, he took in a deep breath. He made the motion to spit something out, at which point his mouth stretched into a tube-like shape, and out of it fired a rather large nut of some kind, the projectile striking the distant sign with a resounding clang. The guys immediately understood his nickname.

"Huh, it's kind cool," Eijiro offered. Their new companion just shrugged.

"I guess. But with that, and me tending to hide a lot when the teasing came, the name stuck. And it matched my side job, acting as an informant for the local heroes, always hiding in the corners, waiting to see something useful." The guys mulled over the reasoning for a bit, before Todoroki posed another question.

"How did you end up in Chen's car?" Deku grimaced, recalling the event.

"Crazy asshole kidnapped me yesterday."

"Ok, but why? I mean why you?"

"He thought I was with you guys because we were hanging over at the Bellagio." Iida blinked at the man.

"The Bellagio? Ah, that explains my… hefty withdrawal," he finished roughly. Deku nodded.

"Yeah. I remembered Kirishima from earlier and started talking with him as he was playing craps. When I mentioned my name, he introduced me to Midoriya. We were chatting until he got a bit tipsy and wandered over to the blackjack tables. He wasn't doing too well at first, but once he got straight drunk, the man was on fire!" The heroes tilted their heads in confusion. "That guy's eyes were flying across the cards like a damn supercomputer. He looked like he was losing his mind, but he raked in round after round." Everyone was quiet for a moment, until Shoto spoke up.

"You're saying Midoriya can count cards… but only while he's drunk?" Deku nodded.

"Yep, the employees couldn't even call him on it; their quirk detectors showed nothing either. You were actually the one to defend him, Todoroki." Shoto was surprised, but also felt a little proud. Their new companion took out his phone, searching through it. "You two started this really deep conversation beforehand. Had a few of the other players crying." The fire-ice user froze, instantly shifting from proud to alarmed at such an implication. Deku seemed to have found what he was looking for, holding up his phone as the video played.

It showed Todoroki and Midoriya at the blackjack table, the dichromatic man placing his hand on the green-haired one's shoulder, smiling in a way few ever saw.

"Mido- no, Izuku… Thank you, thank you for talking me through this. You've always been there for me, even when my family couldn't be. You were like... my brother, at UA."

The actual Todoroki felt his face heat up, watching the video play out, his past-self sharing a drink with a clearly tipsy Midoriya, who smiled back at him lazily, streams of tears running down his eyes.

"Sh-Shoto… that means a lot, really. If I had a brother, he'd definitely be like you; the cool, taller one who looks out for his shy sibling. I just know you'll get this right. When we get back home, face the issue head-on! I'll be there for you." The Todoroki in the clip had his lips trembling slightly, then reached forward to embrace Izuku, who was quick to return the gesture, still grinning like an idiot. Actual Shoto heard a sniffle beside him, glancing over to see Kirishima crying now as well.

"Damn, dude. I… well, you know what I'll say." He wiped off the tears with his forearm, while Deku put away his phone. Todoroki was blank, unsure exactly how to react to all this, staring ahead into nothingness. He barely registered Iida placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Truly awe inspiring, my friend. I admit I am envious of the bond you share with Midoriya. I'm sure he values my friendship greatly, but with you there is a unique connection that I cannot match." Shoto didn't respond, still stunned. Deku seemed amused by the whole spectacle, but suddenly seemed to recall an urgent matter, shifting his eyes between the three heroes.

"Oh shit, that's right! I was on my way to find you guys when I got taken." Eijiro leaned forward.

"Do you know something, like Todoroki was saying?" Deku nodded.

"Yeah. Yesterday, early morning, I was chilling at Caesar's. By luck, I saw Blank Check walked past all subtle-like, trying to get by with a couple suitcases in their hands. I was gonna call the heroes, since I'd been asked to report any sightings of the bastards, but then I noticed the cases were for hero costumes. They didn't look like the kind we use here in America, and I remembered you were all acting a little off. I followed them out, keeping out of sight, saw them stash the cases in their car. They got in and drove out to some shady part of town, me tailing. Once they went into a bar, I made my way over and broke into the trunk, grabbing the costume cases. There was also a bag of your guys' cards and licenses. I tossed it all in my van and rushed back to Caesar's to find you guys, but that's when Chen and his thugs caught me, just as I was running across the parking lot. I tried to fight them off, but his Chaff quirk only takes a second to activate, leaving me powerless."

Iida, Todoroki, and Kirishima gawked at the tale, feeling a massive hole in their story filled in by the information. As overwhelming as it all was, there was one last detail that Tenya was quick to ask of.

"Wait, do you know where Midoriya might be then?" Deku scratched his head, trying to bring up the memoires.

"Mm, I can't say. I didn't see you guys return to your room. Last time I saw him was when you guys left the Bellagio. We were talking in the lot outside when Bakugo dared him to run up the Luxor and press his butt against the light up top, and he seemed eager to prove he could do it, so you guys left for the place."

Iida gasped, thinking back to what they'd seen the previous morning. As they were waiting for their car to be brought out, when Kirishima brought their attention to the damaged Eiffel Tower, which was pointed at…

Tenya's mufflers popped out, a fraction of a second before he shot himself wildly at Bakugo across the road, oblivious, as he was still on the phone.

"Listen, Uraraka-"

" _No!_ You _listen, Katsuki Bakugo! I swear, if Deku isn't standing here about to kiss me for our vows, I WILL THROW YOU INTO ORBIT! YOU GOT THA-?"_

"AGH!" Katsuki was tackled to the ground before she could finish, Iida desperately grabbing for his phone as the blonde cursed at him.

" _Bakugo? Bakugo!"_

"Uraraka, it's Iida."

" _Iida? Talk to me, what's going on?"_

"Don't worry, Bakugo is not in his right of mind at the moment, probably still some alcohol in his system."

" _Where's Deku?"_

"Um, he's paying the bill. We just had a delicious breakfast. We're in a hurry to get back, so we have to get going. We'll see you soon. Bye!"

" _Wait, wh… Iida? Iida-!"_

The line disconnected, at which point Katsuki shoved Tenya away from him.

"WHAT THE FUCK, FOUR-EYES!?" Iida just held his now exhilarated expression, eyes wide with anticipation.

"I know where Midoriya is!"

* * *

The Mercedes flew across the sunbaked asphalt, on its way back into town with five passengers now stuffed into its ruined interior. Iida raced to get them back to Caesar's Palace, making a short stop before their ultimate destination. Along the way, the guys profusely thanked Deku for saving their skins, with Bakugo even going so far as to say he was less useless than their Deku. As Vegas came back in sight, Eijiro leaned over to address Tenya, whom he was seated behind.

"So, Iida, how did you figure it out?" The Engine user smirked triumphantly as he adjusted his glasses, keeping one hand on the wheel.

"You all recall how we witnessed the mysteriously damaged Eiffel Tower yesterday morning, correct?" The guys nodded, though weren't sure yet where he was going with this.

"Yeah," Kirishima began. "It was all bent over, but without any sign of what did it. Almost like the wind itself punched it-…." His and Todoroki's eyes widened in realization. "Oh my god!" Katsuki glanced in the rearview, annoyed at being left out.

"What?! What's going on, you idiots?" Iida held up a finger matter-of-factly.

"Midoriya was trying to signal someone." As Kirishima sounded off in success, Bakugo still didn't get it.

"How the hell did you figure that out?" Tenya motioned with his thumb to the backseat, at their newest companion.

"Deku made me realize it." Katsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Deku?" Eijiro leaned in between the two front seats to clarify.

"Uh, not our Deku, man. Black Deku." The man in question furrowed his brow at the redhead.

"Hey, hey, easy with that. Come on." Eijiro sheepishly backed away to his own seat.

"Sorry." Bakugo still didn't get his answer.

"Will someone tell me where the fuck Asian Deku is?!" Kirishima lightly shoved his shoulder.

"He's on the Luxor's roof, dude!" Katsuki scoffed.

"The fuck? This is _Deku_ we're talking about. Even he wouldn't be stupid enough to get stuck on a roof." Tenya cleared his throat, eager to explain.

"Based on what we've heard, you dared him to run up and press his rear end on the hotel's beacon, which happens to be the single most powerful light on the planet. Considering Midoriya's mental impairment at the time, along with the heat that thing emits, it's very possible he succumbed to something like heatstroke. By the time he'd wake up, the sun would have done further harm to him, rendering him unable to so much as stand." He turned a corner.

"In our second year, Midoriya placed a great deal of time into perfecting the precision of his air blasts. I'm sure he used what little focus he had to strike the tower, an impressive distance, truly." Bakugo rolled his eyes as Tenya descended into his usual noble praise, while the others looked more relieved than they'd been the whole trip. "We'll stop by Deku's van and grab our costumes. It'll be easier to reach Midoriya if we have the professional air." The others nodded in agreement, as their fifth occupant leaned forward.

"Stan."

The guys all glanced at him in confusion.

"If you're meeting up with Midoriya, it'll be confusing to keep using nicknames. It's just Stan to you guys." Bakugo scoffed, but this time with an amused grin.

"That's such an 'extra' name." Stan smiled, not in the least offended.

"That's just fine. It's my job to blend into the crowd."

As planned, the group screeched to a halt beside Stan's van parked at Caesar's maintenance lot. Evidently his primary job was a casino technician, if all the tools lying around inside the vehicle were a hint. The heroes suited up, Iida making sure to head to the Mercedes' trunk and retrieve his exoskeleton, knowing he'd need the rebalancing if anything went down. Once the unfolding suit stuck fast to him, he slid on his white armor, finally feeling like he was casting off the darkness that had pulled at him over the weekend.

Not wasting any time, Stan floored the van to the main road, with the heroes bracing themselves in the back. The maintenance vehicle few down the Strip like a sports car, with its driver receiving many angry honks as he weaved through traffic. Another few sharp turns, and Stan delivered them to the Luxor casino front entrance, screeching to a sideways halt so that the four heroes could slide the door open and quickly book it towards the front door, Kirishima offering their thanks as they ran.

Iida led the pack in bursting in and immediately approaching the front desk, his and the guys' urgency and attire making the clerk nervous.

"May I help you, gentlemen?" They had to remember no one here recognized them. Tenya swiftly showed his license, the others doing so briefly as well.

"Pro heroes, good sir. We need to get to the roof, it's urgent." The man was clearly puzzled, but knew their IDs were genuine, hesitantly pointing towards a hall at the other end of the casino floor.

"I'll make sure the service elevator is unlocked. You can get to it from there. Should I… be calling the police as well?" Iida calmly raised a hand in denial.

"No need, citizen. We shall handle this trite matter without a fuss. Thank you for your assistance." He bowed deeply, the clerk blinking at the Engine user's earnestness. The four dashed for the elevator, which was indeed operational and automatically began heading for the roof as the metal doors closed. The wait was aggravating, especially for Bakugo, stuck in a tight space with a multitude of 'annoying' individuals. Mercifully, the lift dinged, followed by the doors opening to a short metal staircase, which the heroes rushed up. Katsuki kicked the door open, his crimson eyes instantly scanning around for their missing friend.

"Deku! You damn nerd, where are you!?" The others all spread out to cover the fairly small area surrounding the currently deactivated beacon, covering every corner Izuku might have crawled to for some shade, of which there was little.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" Kirishima called, waving his arm. The rest converged on his location, gasping in mixed shock and joy at the image of their long-lost companion laying on his side near the railing, his arm draped over to try shielding his eyes from the rising sun.

"Midoriya!"

"Midoriya!"

"Dude!"

"Deku!"

A groan was heard as they got to their knees and carefully pulled Izuku into a sitting position, to which he didn't resist. Everyone immediately noticed the visible tan he'd received from his time up here. As soon as his bottom touched the floor, Midoriya's glazed eyes shut tightly and he yelped, breaking out of their grip and falling back to his side, gently but fervently rubbing his backside. A few of them scrunched up their face in sympathetic offering to the pain, but Bakugo wasn't feeling as accepting.

"Shit, get up, loser!"

"We've been looking everywhere for you, my friend," Iida spoke, taking a moment to remove his helmet. "We'll get you some ice for your burn." Midoriya didn't look like he was particularly registering any of their instructions.

"What's going on?" he drawled, revealing the hoarseness of his voice. Eijiro flashed his toothy smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"Heh, long story, dude. You look great though, good color!" he offered a thumbs up. Todoroki tried helping the weakened greenette to his feet.

"We can explain everything, but right now we have to go." Izuku just grumbled weakly.

"I'm getting married tomorrow, Shoto." The fire-ice user halted, eyes trained on the gradually awakening greens of his companion. Bakugo seemed to have had enough already, grabbing the One for All user's arm with his large, gloved hand.

"Yeah, yeah, that's why we need you to focus, dumbass. Got it? You're wasting enough time as it is waking up from your all-day nap." No sooner had Bakugo finished this sentence that a flash of green electricity was seen from the rescued Midoriya. This was followed by a 5% Detroit Smash to Katsuki's gut.

"You jerk!" Deku yelled in anger, while his blonde friend coughed and placed his hands over his stomach. "How could you have me do something so stupid!?" Somehow, he switched to sobbing quietly. "Just get me home… please. I want to hug Ochaco for the rest of my life." Kirishima and Todoroki each helped support the sunburnt hero, placing his arms across their shoulders as Iida led the way back towards the elevator. They smirked softly upon witnessing the weary Izuku try forming a smile on his lips. He was with them once again. Now all they had to do was simply get out, go back to Caesar's Palace, check out, and then figure out some way to get home on time.

Simple.

Right?

* * *

 ** _Huzzah! ...I have no idea why I did that. We're getting so close to the end now, it's exciting! I'll be taking my time with the next chapter, some decent amount of choreography to take care of there. Hope it goes well. Also, for some reason this author's note's format is freaking the heck out, so just ignore that._**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: Oh yeah, much better! And I had a lot of fun writing this one. Chow was just too funny.**

 **HankFlamion18: Glad it wasn't a steaming pile of trash for you all.**

 **SoulHorse: Oh wow, interesting method of discovery. I enjoy a bit of KiriBaku fluff myself.**

 **DocHoliday0316: Oh... oh my. That is literally everything that I could possibly want to hear. Thank you, graciously!**

 _ **Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!**_

 _ **next chapter:**_ **Beacons of Japan**


	8. Beacons of Japan

Beacons of Japan

Midoriya chugged down two whole bottles of water before finally letting himself breathe, leaning against the wall near the service elevator. Eijiro and Shoto made sure to help him stay up, as the freckled man basked in the shaded environment of the inside. Fortunately, there was little if any civilian traffic through this area of the lobby, leaving the group of heroes, plus the rejoining Stan, to help their companion recover in peace. Izuku gradually managed to bring himself to a calm state, assuring the guys he could stand on his own. Attempting to actually do so displayed how much the One for All user was shaking, no surprise considering how long he'd been stuck on an exposed roof.

"We need to get him to a hospital, immediately," Iida insisted, carefully putting Midoriya's arm over his shoulder. To his shock, Izuku himself shook his head.

"No, I'm fine, Iida. Just some stinging over my skin. Even the burning is going down." He shifted his legs, the ice packs in his back pants pockets giving off a dull crunch. Tenya resisted, strictly holding his friend in place.

"Midoriya, you are veritably exhausted, as well as somewhat malnourished. As your friend, I cannot allow you to continue in this state." Deku grimaced at the man's insistence, but wasn't really expecting anything less. Fortunately, before the argument could go on any further, the gang heard the sound of something being spit out, glancing over at Stan, whose mouth returned to its normal shape as he now held a nut in his hand. The man then held out the object to Midoriya, stating his intent with a straight face.

"Eat this."

Izuku stared at him and the nut for a moment, then his eye twitched, clearly experiencing an unpleasant flashback. Despite that, he reached up with his free arm and accepted the item, quickly using his grip to crack it open. As the guys watched in astonishment, he popped the meat from inside into his mouth, chewing it up and swallowing.

Iida jerked away as Deku shuddered, the green-haired man's eyes flying wide and his muscles all flexing at once, holding himself up all on his own as his face contorted in disgust. As the effect wore off, Midoriya shook his head to focus, then the rest of his limbs to get the last of the weariness out. Seeing such a drastic change, Todoroki couldn't help but look questioningly at their newest companion.

"What just happened?" Stan gave off a pensive smile.

"The nuts I shoot are packed with a crazy amount of energy, apparently. Although they have a wicked bitter aftertaste." Everyone was stunned to hear of such a useful, if not bizarre, side effect, but regardless were more than relieved to see Deku back on his feet. The man smiled at Stan and held out his fist.

"Thanks so much." Stan just smirked back and tapped his fist into Izuku's.

"Dekus have to watch out for each other." The pair laughed at that, while the others gave them amused smiles, although Bakugo just rolled his eyes. With that done, Stan handed over the costume case he'd been holding for Izuku, who gratefully accepted it and stepped into the service elevator to change. Walking back out, he was just finishing adjusting his gloves, while Stan commented on how cool they all looked.

"Come on, idiots, we've got to get moving," Bakugo interrupted. He grabbed Deku's arm and began dragging him off. The others followed, though Kirishima decided to add in one last crack.

"You really that scared of Uraraka?" The vein that suddenly bulged on Katsuki's temple was enough to have Kirishima back off, leaving Midoriya to ponder what the heck they were talking about. The group made their way towards the front door, as more visitors stared at the fully-suited heroes they were unfamiliar with. They proceeded out the front door, crossing the parking lot towards Stan's van so he could drive them back to Caesar's Palace.

"Alright, with all our documentation and IDs, we should be able to secure swift transportation back to Japan. Something with greater speed than a commercial flight." Shoto looked over at Iida in concern.

"What about Blank Check? They still have our memories." Tenya shook his head.

"We can't worry about them right now. As far as we've discovered there isn't anything overly critical in our lost recollections. Besides, Midoriya seems to have been unaffected, since he was separated from us before the wipe. I'm sure he can fill us in on any details if need be. The police here can contact us later should our vessel come into their custody." Shoto nodded in understanding, even if he didn't fully agree. Bakugo just grunted, giving the same acknowledgement. Kirishima shrugged as they walked along the paint-lined asphalt.

"Yeah, you're right, man. Besides, who knows how hard it would be to find those punks with how long they've dodged the authorities?"

Just as he said this, two pained voices rang out, followed by a pair of men landing painfully right at the heroes' feet, groaning as they lay sprawled out on the ground. Eijiro blinked upon recognizing their faces.

"Well… that was easy."

Despite most of the guys being frozen in disbelief, Katsuki wasted no time and stepped forward, grabbing one of the two by the collar and hauling him up, his feet barely touching the asphalt. "Where the fuck are our memories, you scum?!" he roared at the man, who looked upon the enraged blonde with terror.

"W-w-we don't know! We l-lost your vessel!" The veins in Katsuki's eyes were more pronounced than ever, as he debated blowing the two conmen to bits out of sheer rage. However, this was interrupted when he noticed the group standing just a short distance away from them, evidently the ones who threw Blank Check their way in the first place. Bakugo roughly tossed his captive aside as his attention was focused elsewhere. The conmen tried to scramble to their feet and flee the lot of them, but were halted when ice sprang from around them and shoved the two together, before binding them to one another in a massive brace.

"Please get them out of here," Todoroki asked of Stan. The man nodded, giving Blank Check a shoving kick to get them moving awkwardly back towards the Luxor. With that settled, the five heroes turned to their new company, which consisted of four individuals of varying appearance. One towered above the rest, a gorilla of a man who eyed each hero like they were an object that needed crushing. Another less imposing one had strange openings all over his exposed arms and what could be seen of his chest. The third seemed far lankier than his compatriots, but in a world of quirks, this could always be a mistake to judge on. Finally, the last, and clearly the leader based on radiating authority alone, silently swept his gaze along the five foreigners, a cigar held loosely in the corner of his mouth. He gave another puff, then spit the object out.

"So, you must be the bunch those bugs were talking about." Not in the least threatened, Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the man.

"And just who the hell are you supposed to be?" Their confronter folded his arms, unimpressed with the Explosion user's hostility.

"Dante Gallo, businessman." Behind him, Katsuki heard Midoriya gasp, signaling he knew the name. "Those two idiots came to me promising a whole slew of pro hero valuables, information we could've used to infiltrate and spread our influence beyond the desert we're stuck in now." He sighed in annoyance. "But since they apparently 'lost' the goods and managed to stumble into you lot, we've got no choice but to kill you to recoup our losses." At this, Gallo cracked his knuckles, while his associates formed up in front of him, clearly ready for a fight. Across the way, Bakugo glanced at Midoriya out of the corner of his eye.

"Deku?" he urged roughly. Izuku walked up to be even with his rival, never taking his eyes off the four enemies ahead.

"Gallo is a Mafia capo. He's part of the branch that handles all racketeering in the western states. The men with him are his usual underlings." Bakugo considered his words, even pausing as he saw that look in Midoriya's eye. He knew what it meant, and he couldn't help but grin, looking back to their confronters.

"So you bastards have no idea who we are, but you're all infamous." Katsuki's gloves heated up with his quirk. "You're so screwed." Dante scowled, but remained calm as he motioned for his men to move in. The massive one among them roared as his body suddenly warped, his skin becoming angular and glossy, and his size increasing even more. When the process was complete, a crystalline golem stood facing the heroes, murderous yellow eyes glaring at them. The other two prepared to charge in, while their boss tossed aside his jacket. On their side, Iida turned to his best friend.

"Midoriya, would you care to take the lead?" Deku blinked in surprise, looking over at Kirishima and Todoroki, who both nodded encouragingly. Izuku uncertainly eyed Katsuki next, expecting an argument.

"Kacchan?" Bakugo said nothing for a moment, his face not easily visible. After a moment however, he shifted into a ready position.

"Just this once. Consider it my wedding gift, and don't _ever_ tell anyone about it!" Midoriya just smiled, genuinely touched regardless of the rigidness present in his old friend's voice. He nodded, facing forward with the reassuring smile he was known for back home.

"Then let's get to work."

Their enemies came running, the golem among them causing the ground to shake with each step.

"No time for an analysis, Deku, send us where you think we'll be most effective." The green hero nodded to his fire-ice comrade.

"Alright. Red Riot, deal with the golem; you should be able to outlast him and find a weak point."

"Got it!"

"Endure, throw up a cover to let us split up, then take down the mutation type."

"Right."

"Ingenium, engage the thin one and watch for civilians."

"Understood!"

"Blast Master, you're with me. We're taking down the boss." His rival grunted, but said nothing as Full Cowl sparked to life across Deku's form. "Everyone, try to lead the fighting away from the hotel, towards the east."

One last time, they all acknowledged, then sprang into action, rushing towards the villains. Endure threw his right arm forward and unleashed a barrage of ice between the two sides, obstructing their view of each other. The crystalline golem angrily slammed his fist into the frozen formation, shattering it and sending a chilling fog to permeate the immediate area. As such, he failed to see a hardened Red Riot come flying out towards him, nailing the giant in the gut and sending the two careening back.

With that distraction, Ingenium emerged next, swinging around to the thin man's blind spot and sending a kick to the back of his head. Instead of being sent to the ground, the man suddenly divided into two, with neither appearing to have suffered any damage. Surprised, but hardly deterred, the turbo hero shot off and delivered another kick to the one on the right. Again, he split in two, with the other copy running at Iida with a knife drawn. He dodged and ran back, considering his next move.

In the meantime, Endure sent a storm of icy spikes at the mutation quirk user. The normally threatening attack was unfortunately nullified, as the holes all over the villain's body fired out highly compressed steam, instantly vaporizing the ice. Shoto grunted, firing off more blasts at varying angles and amounts, hoping to find an opening. He soon discovered that the steam bursts were omnidirectional, leaving him with little choice but to think out a new method of attack.

Red Riot was engaged in a fistfight with his opponent, exchanging hardened fists while in his Unbreakable form. Neither side looked to be backing down, although Eijiro knew the size difference would sneak up on him sooner or later. He saw a brief respite in the blows, rushing forward and slamming into one of the golem's legs, knocking it off balance and giving him the chance to cancel his hardening and leap up towards the foe's face. Hardening just his arm, he swung at the villain's jaw, causing it to roar. Sadly, no visible damage appeared on the surface, disappointing Kirishima as he hardened fully to take on the giant's retaliatory strike.

With his subordinates occupied, Gallo turned to the only remaining opposition; Deku and Blast Master closing in on him quickly. Before they could get too close, he placed his hands on the two buses parked beside one another next to him, his arms glowing as himself and the two vehicles began to liquefy. The light grew to engulf the three, then vanished altogether, leaving behind a horrific amalgam of scrap and auto parts whose mass equaled the combined objects. The construct brought up its forearms to block the explosion and punch aimed at it, tanking the blows with moderate success. The arms were blown to bits, scattering all over the parking lot and damaging numerous other cars. While Deku halted briefly to see their foe's next move, Bakugo didn't, sending himself right back into the fray with another blast ready.

Gallo's construct form shifted around, the parts from the vehicles he'd absorbed reconfiguring into a propulsion device, sending him sharply to the left to dodge the explosion hero's attack. As Bakugo cursed, Gallo reconstructed another arm, using it to grab the armored transport he'd moved closer to. It was absorbed as well, pieces moving to the surface. Deku realized what would happen and shot off towards the capo, driving a Detroit Smash into its chest. Damage was inflicted, but the plating from the transport kept the construct from being completely destroyed, merely throwing it back, unfortunately right into more cars.

Blast Master cursed as numerous vehicles were assimilated, growing the construct by leaps and bounds.

"God dammit, how much can this bastard absorb?!" Deku ran up beside him, watching as the mobster's mechanical form got to its feet, now sprouting additional appendages from every angle.

"Unless we completely destroy what he's already absorbed, he can keep adding more." His green eyes locked with his rival's. They nodded. Gallo let out a disfigured roar from his body as it charged across the lot at them.

Deku stole a glance at his fellow heroes, smiling as he saw them successfully edging the fighting away from the hotel and towards the street. Mobs of civilians had by now spotted their action, gathering around the fringes of the parking lot with cameras and cellphones out. No doubt some of the local heroes would show up soon. Deku could hear police sirens already. This was replaced by the sound of screeching metal as he had to jump away from a metallic fist that attempted to crush him. Gallo turned his construct's head to follow him, only to receive a harsh blast to the face from Bakugo.

Iida allowed a glance in the other battle's direction as the monstrosity's pained roar sounded. However, this gave his own opponent an opening to tackle him with around two dozen replicates. Ingenium grunted under the sheer weight, but only momentarily, using his Recipro Burst to leap into the air and scatter them all. As they hit the ground, each copy split into two once again. Tenya gritted his teeth, trying to think how to actually injure the thug, or at least contain him and his horde.

The turbo hero's eyes lit up.

Iida's engines fired on all cylinders, his Recipro Turbo activating. The mobster army ran at him from all sides, but Ingenium easily swerved around them at near invisible speed. With numerous adjustments and assistance from Mei's exoskeleton, he gradually gathered all the copies in a clump, then moved for the outer side, beginning to circle the lot of them, methodically increasing his speed while simultaneously reducing the radius of his lap. The thugs grew confused and agitated as they were herded into a tighter and tighter crowd. Amidst the howling wind he'd begun generating, Ingenium could hear the supportive cries of the onlookers sent his way. He smiled beneath his helmet, then accelerated more.

Finally, the circle closed tight enough that he was tearing into the replicant army. Each time they multiplied, Iida's hypothesis proved correct; his foe had no control over the splitting. The thugs cursed at one another as they were packed beyond any ability to move freely, or even breathe, leaving their originator flustered. He'd finally had it, giving in and cancelling his power. In an instant, all the duplicates disappeared, the original staggering around, dazed and sore from being a human sardine. No sooner had he begun looking around for options that Ingenium was behind him, arms around his head and neck in a choke hold. Direct hits were ineffective, but there were more ways to incapacitate someone. The Mafia grunt struggled briefly, but was no match for Iida's far more robust frame. He went limp, the turbo hero allowing him to collapse to the ground, out cold.

Kirishima was in a deadlock with his golem opponent, each one holding back the other's arms. Hearing a chopping reverberate through the air, Red Riot turned to see a news helicopter pass his field of view. Even in his position, he flashed the reporters a sharp grin, then turned his attention back to the transformed thug. With a heave of strength, Eijiro shoved the golem's massive hands aside, breaking their hold and using the foe's lost balance to run right up his now grounded arm. Red Riot's eyes zeroed in on the crystalline being's exposed neck, grinning slyly as he dove for the target and hardened his face and teeth to the maximum.

The lumbering golem roared as Kirishima's jaws clamped down, finally creating visible damage in the form of cracks around where Eijiro's teeth were sunk in. He wasn't done though. Giving a distorted, manly yell, he put as much crushing force as he could into the bite, managing to further crack and splinter the crystal hide. The golem was failing about, trying to pull him off. Unfortunately, the sturdy hero had also dug his hardened fingers into his enemy's body, imitating a massive red tick.

With one final crunch, Eijiro released, undoing his quirk and back-flipping away from the behemoth. As it stumbled around wildly, Red Riot hardened his legs and rushed forward, getting right in range of a counter, which his foe did indeed attempt, swinging its massive arm down to hammer him into the asphalt. But Kirishima was faster, able to selectively activate his power on various body parts, giving him the edge in agility as he lunged up past the incoming fist and deactivated his legs' hardening. This was followed up swiftly by Eijiro's arm being brought upwards, armored to its max. With an opening created by the golem's last swing, nothing stopped Red Riot from unleashing his finisher.

" _Red Lariat!"_

A horrendous shattering echoed out when the arm latched around the already damaged neck, as Kirishima's momentum-driven attack pulled his helpless foe down to the ground, its crystalline back impacting like a wrecking ball, letting out a tremor. Dust and asphalt bits blew out, obscuring view for both pedestrian and chopper alike. Then, with as typical a reveal as one would expect from a hero-villain clash, the dust settled, revealing a sprawled out human on the ground, his neck clearly bruised, and mouth letting out chocked groans. Standing tall above him, Red Riot grinned fiercely, admiring the few scrapes and nicks he'd gotten from the fight, all while the people nearby exploded into cheers.

Across the way, Endure had worked his way closer to his steam-blasting foe, who was baffled by the tactic, convinced that Todoroki's quirk was strictly long-range. Nevertheless, he was happy to put all his effort into scalding the elemental hero as Shoto managed to get within reach of the villain. As he expected, an omnidirectional burst of scalding gas erupted from each massive pore on his opponent's body. Instead of pointlessly trying to dodge, Endure coated himself in his ice, any chance at building frost nullified as it was evaporated in seconds. Shoto hissed slightly, miscalculating how much he needed to withstand the blast, likely to see some first-degree burns later. For some reason, he internally laughed at the thought. The steam-blaster sent another burst at him, but this time Endure managed to compensate for the temperature difference. As another attack was nullified, the Mafia thug finally noticed just how much the air in their immediate area was destabilizing from the vicious temperature fluctuations.

Sadly for him, few heroes could command such fluctuations better than Todoroki.

From out of the dense fog of steam and icy energy, a massive crown of ice shot out, surprising the mutation quirk user enough that he wasn't ready for the glowing left hand that came right at him from the ice's origin. He instinctively tried expelling another blast of steam, but it was too late. The air was violently ripped down the middle, slicing the heated vapor apart and paving the way for Shoto's follow-up. The last thing the villain saw before being sent flying were the raging flames that engulfed his hero opponent's left side. Then there was a bang, as the air rapidly replaced itself, the mutation user experiencing a second, more solid impact as he was embedded in the obelisk that stood at the Luxor's front, utterly spent.

Shoto cancelled out his flames and gradually called forth more ice to rebalance his body temperature, giving a cool exhale that sent his chilling breath into the air. Many of the female onlookers nearby lost it.

Dante was having no less problems than his defeated subordinates. He was constantly absorbing more cars, light posts, any material he could get his hands on to compensate from the swaths of metal Deku and Blast Master were shaving off with each punch, kick, or explosion. They had him backed into a corner, his improvised mechanical eyes darting between the two heroes as they came at him with another round of hits. At the last moment, Gallo reach with one loosely assembled appendage and grabbed the tram line running above the parking lot, causing Midoriya and Bakugo to pause. The Mafia capo's monstrous construct seemed to smirk as it ripped the tram railing apart, absorbing it in the process.

Like a whip, Gallo jerked the melding appendage, twisting the tracks further down the line. To the heroes' horror, the rapidly collapsing line was right above a group of civilians, who began panicking at the sight. Deku was just about to break off and assist, when a wall of ice grabbed at the cracking support columns, followed by a blur of white swiping away multiple bystanders who were in the path of falling debris. A little girl screamed as a chunk of concrete and rebar plummeted towards her. Thanks to Red Riot's sudden interference, it never laid so much as a scratch on her, the child's eyes wide with wonder as the man's Unbreakable form stood above her protectively.

Deku beamed at his teammates, allowing his attention to shift back to Gallo. He and Bakugo gasped at seeing he'd made his way over to the hotel's enormous sphinx statue while they were distracted. Without hesitation, the construct stuck itself to the practical building as if it were a starfish. As the absorption commenced, everyone gathered at Izuku and Katsuki's location, staring up at the event in astonishment.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me!" Kirishima called out. "Does he ever have to stop!?" Midoriya narrowed his eyes as the sphinx began to shudder from its foundation.

"No. Given enough mass, he could exponentially grow. He's avoided full-scale assaults until now only because his higher-ups demand discretion." Deku bit his lip, then turned, along with the others, as they heard incoming footsteps. Fittingly enough, the local heroes and police force had arrived in full, though were clearly unprepared for what they were witnessing. One of the pros singled out Midoriya and approached, urgency evident.

"What the hell is that? And who are you guys? You don't seem like you're from around here." Eijiro grinned triumphantly as he motioned to himself and his friends.

"You're looking at some of Japan's best and manliest heroes." The American pro and a few others flanking him had their eyes go wide. Unfortunately, their encounter was interrupted by the horrific screeching of pulled metal and cracking stone. Everyone looked back to the sphinx, now infused with metal components from the many vehicles Gallo had absorbed, acting as a skeleton and muscle system of sorts. The titanic creature pulled itself to its feet, the entire area rumbling like an earthquake, leaving most of the onlookers running for their lives. Upon its face, the once inanimate statue's eyes drifted over to the five foreigners below, clearly setting its sights. Deku scowled at the beast in return; there was no way they could let this go on here. He spun back around to the pros, as well as a few officers who had joined them.

"We can't fight this here. Please, help us lure it towards the airport. Then we can engage without civilians getting caught up in the fight." The local heroes nodded, agreeing with his judgement. Midoriya then looked to the police. "Sir, contact air-traffic control, have them clear the runway of all craft as well as redirect any incoming flights." The uniformed man acknowledged, turning to leave as he pulled out his radio to make the necessary calls. All present heroes turned to face the sphinx construct, which now reared back like a cat ready to pounce.

 **(I think you all know what to start playing here)**

"Scatter, now!"

On Deku's command, everyone broke up, leaving an empty space for one of Gallo's massive paws to crush, throwing up a mess of dust. Immediately, the beast began being pelted by all manner of elemental blasts, projectiles, and whatever else the combined company of heroes could throw at it. The sphinx jerked around, tearing up what was left of the tram rail in front of its original resting place, then made a short jump out onto Las Vegas Boulevard. The landing tossed several parked cars on their sides or roofs, though fortunately the police had quarried off several blocks of road at some point during the initial fighting. This left the heroes with room to maneuver and attack the construct without worry of collateral.

In the midst of their assault, Endure snuck behind the beast and sent a dense sheet of ice across the road, Gallo's massive form quickly losing footing on the glacial surface. Taking advantage, Red Riot joined several strength augmentation users in shoving the creature's hind legs, further pushing it towards their final destination. Ingenium ran around the constructs front limbs, keeping it occupied as Deku and Blast Master hammered away at the thing's head with long-range attacks, aggravating it more by the second. Bakugo kept buzzing around using his explosions, an annoying firecracker fly to the sphinx, while Izuku performed some sharpshooting at the joints, encouraging it to take him out first.

The operation was clearly working. Gallo was stumbling across the street, into empty lots with little material for him to absorb; though he had plenty in reserve to repair the damage being inflicted. Deku suddenly put more power into his legs and leapt sky-high, eyeing the airport just a short block away now. The area was cleared of all planes, each one safely docked away from the sphinx's path. God knows what the Mafia villain could do with a couple jets sucked into him. With another pounce, the towering construct crashed through the gates separating the runway from the outside, signaling for Deku to find his explosive companion for their endgame.

"Blast Master!" he called seeing Bakugo still agitating the beast's head. The man heard him, breaking off upon seeing the One for All user waving him down. Gallo surged forward to swipe at the airborne blonde, but a quick rush of Endure's flames threw him off. Katsuki made it down to his rival, the two turning to face the sphinx, now fully placed on the runway. "You got enough?" Bakugo raised his grenade gauntlet, seeing it flash red momentarily.

"Hell yeah." Emerald eyes once more met crimson. This time, the two childhood friends actually grinned at one another.

"Then I'll set him up for you." Deku took a step forward, taking a deep breath. Energy began crackling around his body, his costume seeming to strain against the power building up. Within him, Izuku could feel the star of energy that was One for All surging forth, relaying past the essences of those that came before him, until finally colliding with his own innate strength, bringing it to the surface.

" _Full Cowl- 100%"_

Deku's hair brightened as it flared back, as if brimming with static. His focused eyes emanated slight wisps of fire-like energy, barely containing itself in his flesh and bone. His costume billowed as if he were standing in a howling gale. Even after so many years, this technique was used scarcely. One miscalculation and the quirk would tear Izuku apart. But he needed it now, he needed the strength to launch a building-sized villain into the air. Sure, he could decimate Gallo on his own, but a raw physical impact would scatter debris like a meteor shower for several blocks. That level of collateral damage was unacceptable. There was only one person would could deliver the vaporizing blast necessary to end this without further harm.

Deku vanished, moving at such speeds that the local heroes thought he teleported. His friends knew better, eyes instantly beneath the sphinx, where the green-clad hero was already winding up a kick. Bakugo got into position, hands kept light and free for the timing he'd need in a few seconds. The pins on his gauntlets popped out of their compartment. Then Izuku swung, the air pressure alone already lifting the sphinx construct off the ground. Jaws dropped all over, pro and distant onlookers together, as a single man sent Gallo flying into the sky.

His target in sight, Katsuki reached in and grabbed both of the pins on his gauntlets simultaneously. As he did, heavy braces shot out of the back of each one, encasing his normally exposed arms in preparation for the backlash to come. Blast Master pulled, the pins flying away as he aimed both hands at the airborne sphinx, generating the densest concentration of explosive energy he could in his palms, as the additional sweat from his grenades poured into the mix. A bright flash came just a split-second before firing, Bakugo yelling out in his classic carnage-filled voice.

" _NITROBLITERATE!"_

The shockwave alone sent all those nearby onto their backs, while Katsuki's legs sank into the earth, his arms' bracers groaning from the strain. A literal beam of destructive force shot into the heavens, enveloping Gallo in the blink of an eye. The sound didn't reach anyone's ears until after the visible detonation far above, what was initially a blinding explosion quickly devolving into a deep ashen cloud of smoke and dust. Scores of disintegrating bits flew out of the inky cloud, all dissolving harmlessly before even coming close to the ground, ensuring the safety of both person and property.

Bakugo staggered, then fell back onto his rear end, beginning to pant as his bracers retracted back into the gauntlets. He rested his arms on his knees, trying to better circulate the oxygen replenishing his system. Despite his heavy breathing, he heard the metal-soled footsteps of his rival come up beside him, the green-haired inheritor of One for All collapsing to the earth in the same position as him, though with a slight wince at his dulled yet prevailing burn. As the two sat there, whoops and cheers gradually filled in the formerly quiet atmosphere, the blackened cloud in the sky finally fading away, though not before depositing the source of all the mayhem from its bottom. Gallo's barely conscious form fell fast from the sky, only to be grabbed by Shoto's ice well before meeting the runway. The Mafia capo was singed, caked in soot, and occasionally coughing out ashes; clearly down for the count.

As the celebration piled on, with distant voices of civilians joining in, the news chopper overheard pausing to get some close ups, Izuku and Katsuki finally looked at one another, giving each other a rather blank stare as the seconds ticked by.

Then a chuckle escaped their mouths. Followed by another, and another, until the pair flat-out laughed.

"At least you're always there to play stagehand for a glorious fucking finish," Bakugo declared as they settled down. Midoriya sent him a determined smirk in reply.

"Next time, I'll take the finishing blow."

"You wish, loser." The two each made a fist and hit the backs of each other's hands together, then noticed two other hands being offered to them from above. They wholeheartedly accepted Iida and Kirishima's support back to their feet, steadying themselves with further help from their friends as the other pro heroes finally converged around them, spouting all manner of praise and questions. Above, two more news copters had joined in, more-or-less ensuring their latest victory would be broadcast from coast to coast.

The five foreigners were certainly not nobodies anymore.

* * *

 ** _Oh my god did I have fun with this one! Honestly, most of the time I took for this chapter was spent hyping myself up for it. The actual writing was done in one morning. I've been told I do decently on fight scenes, so fingers crossed I gave you all a good climax. I was listening to You Say Run on repeat for most of it, so I was typing like crazy._**

 ** _On the topic of hero names, I'm sure there's been better ones for Todoroki, I just picked something I felt was symbolic, for several reasons that I'm sure can be surmised. On Bakugo, I couldn't think of anything clever, so I just went with something I thought he'd find acceptable._**

 ** _Anyway, two chapters left, I'm probably typing the next as you read this, since my hype didn't wear off after completing this one. I just feel awesome, honestly. You've all been really supportive too!_**

 **HankFlamion18: I do so hope I delivered the bang, or at least the main one. And well, Doug did get pretty crisped up in the movie, so I wanted to keep it in for realism sake.**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: The answers soon to come, I promise!**

 **Crow's Apprentice: I had a feeling it would be the best received thus far. Clearly most find it their favorite part of the movie.**

 **lostdog200: Agreed! and you're welcome!**

 **ds hero: Hm, not sure if I'll have time, heck, I haven't even seen part 2 and 3.**

 **SoulHorse: Always a pleasure to bring the laughs.**

 **bukspwn737: YES! SUCCESS! I was so hoping to strike a balance.**

 **MasterofDungeons: Hehe, gotta throw in some reference jokes.**

 _ **Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!**_

 _ **next chapter:**_ **Homecoming**


	9. Homecoming

Homecoming

Without further incident, the four mobsters were led into a transport bound for the nearest villain prison, numerous police cruisers on standby as their drivers conversed with superiors by radio or directly. Not far from this, the Blank Check duo were unceremoniously shoved into the backseat of a cruiser, too dejected to even give verbal conflict, or perhaps still freezing from the ice brace Shoto had placed around them.

The hero in question was currently finishing up his report to the authorities, along with the others, trying their best to temporarily ignore the screaming of apparent new fans and the drowned out questions of reporters mixed in among them. Eventually, their recounting complete, the officer in charge put away his notepad and smiled up at the five foreign heroes.

"We can't thank you enough, gentlemen. Not just getting those two snakes off the streets, but ripping a massive hole in the mob's operations here on the west coast." Deku just politely waved him off.

"Oh, it's nothing, sir! Besides, technically the mob took care of Blank Che- Ow!" Bakugo smacked him upside the head.

"Just take the compliment, idiot." Izuku frowned at him as he rubbed the spot on his temple, the officer blinking at them in confusion.

"Right, well, in any case, I'll go see about getting you all a ride back to Japan, as well as process the exemptions for that sedan of yours. Excuse me." He walked off, as did several other cops nearby, leaving little between them and the civilian horde screaming for their attention. Large it may be, but this was the part they were used to, even the normally reserved Midoriya; though one could make out a few beads of sweat running down his face as a multitude of girls asked for his relationship status. The others suffered similar situations, though most took it in stride.

Iida, thankfully, diverted most of the media attention, holding them at bay as he relayed a triumphant speech about his 'rise out of the ashes' or something. Kirishima exchanged hearty fist bumps and handshakes with a plethora of males, basking in the manly praise that came with. Todoroki seemed the most overwhelmed, his stoic shell barely holding as overzealous fangirls nearly trampled him. This wasn't helped when a little boy shoved past and politely asked for Shoto's autograph, at which point the elemental hero softened his features, smiled, and knelt down to his level to fulfill the request. Some girls fainted.

Surprisingly, the normally glory-chasing Bakugo looked the least enthusiastic about the crowd, impatiently tapping his foot even as he answered questions and attended to his new fans. His crimson eyes kept darting towards the police officers in the distance, on their radio about their transportation. He glanced at his phone more than once, teeth grinding.

As Iida was finishing his dramatic recounting of redemption, a familiar voice called out his name. He spotted Hatsume amongst the mob, quickly using his quirk to snatch her out. The two stood rather awkwardly in front of one another for a minute.

"Hey," Tenya began.

"Hey," she answered back. Iida cleared his throat.

"I'm very grateful for your assistance last night. It was… exciting even, to run using your invention." The pinkette nodded with minimal enthusiasm.

"Sure." Pursing his lips, Iida desperately tried to think of something to say.

"Listen, Mei, I-"

"You don't have to say it. I totally understand." Tenya waited for her to continue. The inventor put on a bemused grin. "This whole thing was stupid." The turbo hero in front of her rubbed the back of his neck.

"It was quite bizarre, I'll admit." Mei gave off a chuckle.

"You were pretty off your rocker."

"Clearly."

"You did pull your own muffler out." Iida instantly froze.

"I… _I_ pulled out my muffler?" Hatsume nodded, some of her usual charm returning.

"Kirishima bet that you weren't manly enough to pull it out without crying." Tenya clenched his teeth, glancing over at the sturdy hero, who was currently shooting some poses for the cameras.

"Of course he did." Mei took a step towards him, her smile trying to cheer him up.

"You won, though." Iida actually found himself laughing, making Hatsume smile more.

"Well, there's another victory to add to this excursion." As the laughter died off, Mei sunk back into a state of solace.

"Though none for me I guess, unless the support contract later today goes well. Can't get married just like with those." Tenya gazed upon the saddened crosshairs that were the woman's eyes, feeling a tug at his heart. Taking in a breath, he straightened, reaffirming his Iida family upbringing.

"Yes, well, normally one has dates before thinking of engagement, to get to know each other better and solidify their relationship." Hatsume looked up at him in surprise, as the man readjusted his glasses out of habit. "Would you… care to…?" As he trailed off, Mei's already massive eyes began trembling. She suddenly threw herself into the current Ingenium, who just managed to not fall over.

"I'd love to!" she shouted into his chest. Then her iron hold loosened, and she added in a much softer voice. "Thank you, Tenya." Iida soon recovered from his stupor, giving the woman a warm hug in reply, smiling fondly. The two separated, both looking like a weight had been taken off their shoulders.

"HEY, FOUR-EYES! GET OVER HERE!" Bakugo was furiously waving for their fifth to converge, as the officer from before had come back with news of their predicament. The pair realized it was time to go, as Mei began to back away.

"I'd better get going to my meeting. I'll call you later." Tenya nodded, then stuck out his arm dramatically.

"Show them why you're the best hero support inventor that UA- neigh, the world, has ever seen!" Hatsume flashed a devious smile and gave him a thumbs up.

"I wouldn't do anything less!" Iida smiled and waved as the pinkette drifted back into the crowd of civilians. "Bye!"

"Bye."

With that, a truly content Tenya Iida walked back over to his friends, with Izuku and Kirishima giving him approving smiles and nods. Now that everyone was back, the officer cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I'm sorry to say but there's no available jet for emergency dispatch. All of them are currently in use for numerous rescue heroes that are heading for a massive fire tearing through California." The guys' shoulders slumped, though they understood the priority of getting a dangerous blaze under control. The policeman sympathized with their dilemma, but he wasn't entirely finished. "However…" He eyed Izuku. "A friend of yours did send over what she hopes will help." Midoriya tilted his head, unsure what the man was talking about.

The groups' thoughts were interrupted as a rather familiar roar pierced the air, turning their heads to see the jet car they'd stolen from lockup pull up on the side of the road, the officer inside stepping out and shooting the heroes a smile.

"She's ready to go, sirs." Still confused, attention was finally drawn back to a video player the first officer held up, which suddenly depicted another face Midoriya recognized; a smiling, bespectacled blonde waving back at him.

"Hey there, Deku! Long time no see." The green-haired hero's jaw dropped.

"M-Melissa!?" Said woman giggled as the five guys stared at her in complete shock.

"Nice to see you all too. Oh, Bakugo! Glad to see your arms didn't break this time after that ultimate move of yours. Guess those adjustments worked out." The explosion hero just grumbled and looked away, causing Melissa to roll her eyes in amusement. Midoriya began shaking his head.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too, but why'd you call?" Melissa winked back at them.

"I heard you guys were stranded in Vegas, running late for a wedding. And since you already took the liberty of 'borrowing' daddy's old support vehicle, I figured you could put it to good use. I went ahead and approved the release of its flight component, so you should be able to cross the Pacific."

"That thing can _fly_?!" Kirishima exclaimed, leaning in past Iida and Bakugo's shoulders. Melissa nodded happily. However, Iida seemed skeptical, politely pushing Eijiro off him.

"But Melissa, surely it can't reach the speeds necessary to reach Japan in time!" The woman nodded sagely, but perked up immediately after.

"True. But with the abilities you all possess, I'm sure you can give it the extra boost it needs. It's faster than taking a cruise ship at least. I also checked all the flight schedules at every major airport near you guys. No luck on catching a commercial flight home, I'm afraid." The guys grimaced at that.

"So we've got no choice," Todoroki lamented. Deku wasn't about to let them stay on this note however, giving his friends a hopeful grin.

"Hey, at least we've got a chance, guys." He turned to Melissa, giving her video projection a bow. "Thank you so much, Melissa, you have no idea what this means to us!" The others all followed suite in giving their gratitude. The woman giggled again, holding up her index finger.

"I know _exactly_ what it means. Tell Ochaco I said congratulations! Now go get her, World's Greatest Hero." As Izuku blushed at the sudden teasing, Katsuki shoved the One for All holder aside.

"THAT'S _ME_ , DAMMIT!" Melissa just laughed, finally cutting the call. While Kirishima tried to calm down the pride-hurt blonde, the police officers gave the five one final salute in thanks for their massive contribution, which they returned in earnest. With the authorities dispersing, they headed towards the car, ready to begin the long trip home. In the midst of this, their newest friend suddenly burst out of the still-present crowd, panting as he came up to them.

"W-wait! Guys!" Stan stopped, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. The group patiently waited for him to recover, having not given him a proper farewell anyway. Once he rose to stand straight, he actually looked nervous, motioning for the six of them to move to a more secluded spot behind a nearby wall. "On a hunch, I went back to Caesar's and checked their lost and found. I uh… found your vessel." The guys' eyes went wide, disbelieving.

"Whoa! Seriously?! That's awesome!" Eijiro answered for the group. However, Stan's facial expression said he wasn't done. "Why do you look so nervous though?" The other Deku bit his lip.

"Well, that was the 'hunch' part. I guess the cops didn't tell you this, but most of the vessels Blank Check made were out of things not many people would want to touch, just to make it harder to find." The heroes stared at him, suddenly afraid to ask. Instead, he simply reached into his coat pocket, wearing a glove, they noticed, and held the item out to them, causing Izuku and Tenya's faces to redden, Shoto and Katsuki's eyes to twitch, and Eijiro's mouth to hang open. "And um, yeah, you've got to make direct contact, so no gloves."

The five visitors were suddenly wishing they could just fight another villain. True to what they'd been told, they could sense the connection to themselves from the object, making it all the more disturbing. Iida found his voice first, clapping his hand on Deku's shoulder.

"Ah, Midoriya, I think your recollection will be just fine for me."

"Same here," Kirishima got out. Bakugo had yet to speak, but Shoto glanced at his freckled friend, an indecisive look in his dual-colored eyes.

"Mi… Izuku." The One for All holder turned his attention to him, surprised at being called out. "I want to remember. I know you could just tell me, but, I want to feel it with my own thoughts. This was an important decision, and I can't face it if I don't have the substance behind it." Deku's surprise was evident, staring at his companion as if peering into his soul.

"Shoto…" As he usually did, Bakugo interrupted the moment with high-vocals.

"For fuck's sake, let's just do this! We can wash our hands afterward, it's not like we'll get an STD from the damn thing."

"Yeah," Eijiro added, feeling a bit more positive. "It might not even be used." Stan shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it's 'batteries included', so we can't say for sure."

"Can we please get this over with!?" Tenya cried, face reaching maximum crimson, alongside Izuku's. The guys collectively gulped, then those of them with gloves removed them, even Deku, who did so for moral support, taking the vessel from Stan, his body shuddering as he did. They gathered close, nodding one last time. With their breaths held, the four affected heroes reached out and placed a hand on the item.

It glowed brightly, then faded a few seconds later.

The guys stood there, stiff, as the memories flooded back to their owners.

…

…

…

Bakugo promptly turned to the side and vomited.

Iida felt like a limp noodle.

Kirishima stuttered unintelligibly.

Todoroki held back a few tears.

Izuku and Stan watched uncomfortably as the quartet processed it all, concerned that this may have been the result. Midoriya considered he should have mentioned beforehand that not long after being affected by Blank Check's quirk, the five of them began daring each other to do all manner of idiotic things throughout the night, his itchy rear end being the result of one. To be fair, not all of them had been too bad, but with their inhibitions removed, there was little restraint. As the guys slowly put themselves back together, Deku turned back to Stan, tossing the now useless vessel into a nearby trashcan.

"You really were our hero this weekend, Stan. Thank you again." Kirishima and Iida seemed thankful for the shift in topic, giving their best smiles to the man alongside Izuku's.

"Yeah, man. You were awesome! And with that quirk, you could really do some good." Stan sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Heh, I thought about it once, but I'm not sure what I could do." Midoriya, in his element, excitedly beamed at the man.

"Are you kidding? With those revitalizing nuts you could give exhausted heroes another chance against powerful villains. Or you could even assist in rescue operations from a distance, like shooting them into a crevice that no one can reach yet to give victims the strength to hold out until they're saved. You'd have to do the exact math on the velocity you can shoot them at, but I'm sure a good hit to the head will knock out minor criminals no problem as well. Maybe with practice you could even increase the force with which you can launch them. Not to mention it's an attack you can use even if all four of your limbs are disabled and before using it you give no indication except for taking in a breath, meaninganyunsuspectingtargetwillhavenoideait'scomingandwilllettheirguarddown…"

*BOOM*

"SHUT THE HELL UP, NERD!" Katsuki roared after nearly blowing Izuku's eyebrows off. The two's friends sweatdropped at the rather nostalgic exchange, even while Stan awkwardly tried to recount every mutter that had come out of the One for All user's mouth.

"W-well, thanks, Midoriya. Maybe… maybe I'll try seeing what happens, see if I can do more for this town besides being a snitch, heh." He held out his hand, allowing Deku to shake it one last time. "Good luck out there, Deku."

"You too, Deku." With that, their unexpected savior walked off.

Their final business taken care of, the five took a few minutes to step into the nearby Luxor and change out of their costumes in the restroom, emerging to a clear path to their ride out of Vegas. Pros and civilians waved their goodbyes as they piled into the car, giving wishes of a safe journey home. Bakugo gunned the engine and pulled them out onto the boulevard, which was thankfully still closed off from the fighting earlier. As Bakugo lined them up to head south, he noticed something in their rearview, coming in fast from above.

"There's our flight component," Todoroki confirmed, having taken notice of Katsuki's line of sight and turned his neck to look back. The Explosion user wasted no time in hitting the gas, pushing everyone into their seats. Iida just barely caught himself from chastising him about the speed limit, realizing they didn't have to abide in this situation. As the jet car approached its maximum ground speed, the airborne addition swooped down and auto-locked onto the vehicle's rear, triggering additional changes to the exterior, their speed suddenly increasing further. Kirishima suddenly cheered, throwing his arms into the air beside their driver.

"Oh man, I just remembered this one movie where they landed a plane on this street! It was manly as hell!" The guys laughed at his enthusiasm as they finally took off, seeing Las Vegas rapidly begin to shrink in the distance as Bakugo turned them to the west, giving them a gorgeous aerial view of the city. Once the town was long gone, they all settled in for the long haul back home.

"At least the trip wasn't a _total_ disaster," Deku shouted over the wind.

"What makes you say that?" Kirishima asked, looking back at him. The green-haired man chuckled as he held up his hand.

"Well, Kacchan never told me what he won them from, but he had me shove 80 grand worth of Bellagio chips in my pocket." He showed them the plastic disks for proof, prompting Eijiro to cry out in joy, while even Shoto cracked a grin as the small victory. In the wake of this, Kirishima recalled another gambling related mystery.

"Oh yeah, Midoriya, you were playing blackjack that night too. How much did you end up winning?" Izuku frowned, pulling out his phone.

"I'm not sure. I just barely remember cashing in the chips, but the alcohol made it a blur." He took a moment to log into his bank account, the guys anxiously awaiting an answer. As soon as Deku read over the numbers, his jaw hit the floor, prompting Iida to glance over at the screen, adjusting his glasses when he thought he'd misread.

"Dear god! Midoriya took in just over 102 thousand!" As Eijiro did yet another, fiercer shout, Bakugo grinned menacingly, glancing at the bashful man in the rearview.

"And he didn't even get caught. We're coming back next month, Deku. Take the whole town."

"Kacchan!" the ninth holder sputtered in reply.

* * *

By the time the guys had reached the pacific coast, Midoriya had thrown together the best plan he could on how to get back home across the ocean. In accordance with this, he, Bakugo, and Iida rotated turns at the wheel, while the other two provided thrust with their respective quirks. Todoroki remained beside the jets on either side of the car, icing them over constantly to counteract the engines overheating, as well as providing an occasional burst of flame for further propulsion. Poor Kirishima had the most unpleasant role of all however, clinging to the front of the car, fully exposed to the sea spray being kicked up by their movement. Izuku had surmised the vehicle wasn't graded for the speeds they had it flying, concerned that the exterior would tear itself apart if they weren't careful.

As such, the sturdy hero took on the 'manliest' job of all, making sure their ride didn't break up while they were in the middle of the ocean, enduring several hours of hardening to keep him and his friends going. Though his intent was true and admirable, even he couldn't deny his eyes were starting to burn after a while from the salty mist, despite them being clamped shut.

"Can we at least stop in Hawaii for a break!?"

* * *

Waves lapped peacefully over the silken sands, a few pedestrians, singular or couples, strolling across, enjoying the warm noontime sun shining down from above. At the nearby pier, a young man was sitting at the end of the structure, quietly reading a book, legs dangling out into the water. His attention was snagged moments later, however, as he noticed a ripple in the ocean horizon. He squinted, trying to see if it was just a boat in the distance. A red dot was gliding just above the surface, quickly growing in size. He blinked, trying to make out the shape. It began to appear flatter, symmetric, and with what seemed to be explosions and blasts of air being propelled from what he assumed was behind it.

A few seconds later, he realized how fast it was approaching, and that it was headed right for him. He panicked, grabbing his book and gunning it back up the pier towards shore. The rumble of the nearing object served to motivate him to hurry, but it was all for naught. He couldn't outpace it, so he just dove to the ground, putting his book protectively over his head, as if it would help.

As the rumble grew to a roar, the object finally arrived, sailing right over the man, its wind displacement nearly ripping the pages off his literature. He chanced to look up as it neared the street past the beach, stunned to see a part of it disengage from the rest and drop some weird car roughly onto the asphalt, resulting in a few bounces.

Deku and Bakugo dove back into their seats, Katsuki taking over for Iida, who helped pull Kirishima back inside. The redhead looked nauseous, enough to quickly lean over the side and lose what little was in his stomach as Bakugo took the wheel again. As everyone settled in, Katsuki consulted the car's GPS on how to best get to the wedding. Iida then turned to Shoto.

"Did the call go through?" the fire-ice user nodded.

"Yes. I told him exactly where we'd be making landfall. As long as we get on the freeway, we'll meet up en route." As Tenya breathed a sigh of relief, Midoriya looked between the two.

"What are you guys talking about?" His best friend gave a confident smile.

"We called in a favor." Rather than question the two, Izuku just decided to wait, seeing as Bakugo had just steered them onto the freeway entrance ramp. Drivers steered clear of the jet car as it raced down the road, with Todoroki and Iida keeping an eye out for their meet. A few minutes later, a white van sporting little more than a hero agency title across its side pulled up beside them, garnering a look of success from Tenya.

"There he is!" Deku nearly stood up to see who was coming, flinching as he read the name.

"What!? No way!" As the van came close, its side door slid open, revealing none other than the fiber master himself. "Best Jeanist?!" The denim-clad hero gave a polite bow to the five.

"Welcome back, heroes. I heard you were headed for a wedding. Deku, I offer congrats."

"Th-thank you, sir!" Jeanist then narrowed his eyes at the lot.

"Now then…" The man held out his hand, then clenched his fist, immediately causing a mess of clothing fibers from within his van to shoot out and begin wrapping themselves around the guys. The fibers from their current attire were quickly replaced, leaving the sea-soaked apparel neatly folded on each of their laps, while the returning heroes now sported slick and crisp tuxes in preparation for the ceremony ahead. After inspecting themselves, the group waved gratefully to the older pro hero, who simply offered a wave back.

"I look forward to the next time we work together." He eyed Bakugo. "Even you, Blast Master."

"Up yours, Denim Vader!"

"Bakugo, the road!" Thanks to Kirishima's warning, Katsuki managed to swerve around a far slower motorist ahead of them. Best Jeanist offered one last comment as his van began pulling away.

"I do hope you all realize, you look terrible besides your suits and reek of seawater." Kirishima just flashed the man a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, sir! My niece will have our backs on that front!" Izuku stared in utter confusion at him, as Jeanist's ride finally took the next exit.

"Your niece?" Eijiro grinned at the One for All user, waiting for him to realize on his own. Izuku blinked back at him a few times, until a few gears in his mind seemed to move in the right sequence. "Oh."

* * *

Another ten or so minutes of frantic driving and Bakugo finally had them turning the corner onto the final street. The screech of tires drew the attention of one white-haired teenager awaiting their arrival on the front yard, her red eyes widening at the sight of a jet car rushing down the street. She cautiously took a few steps back, allowing Katsuki to somewhat safely park halfway onto the sidewalk, a maneuver Iida quickly got onto him for, but was overwhelmingly dismissed in favor of getting out of the vehicle. The five heroes clumsily piled out, making sure their tuxes were buttoned and didn't catch any marks from their car.

Upon confirming their status, they just barely caught the sound of someone running up to them, before Izuku found himself tackled by a hug.

"Deku!" The green-haired man at once couldn't help but smile, returning the embrace as he swung the girl around a few times, her dress fluttering around from the motion.

"Hey, Eri! You miss me?" he asked, setting her back on her feet. The brilliant smile and vigorous nodding were all the answer he needed, before the young lady held up her phone.

"I got Uncle Eiji's text. You really do look bad." Darkened lines of morbid depression cast themselves upon Midoriya's face, while Kirishima offered a condoling pat on the back. Eri giggled at this, then promptly reached out and placed her hand on Izuku's chest, the horn on her forehead sparking with energy. One flash later, Deku found all the minor cuts and blemishes from his fight back in Vegas were gone, as was the scent of the ocean. Even his rear end felt normal. However, he suddenly realized his skin was still quite golden. He grinned nervously at his charge.

"Um, I'm still a bit tanned." The snow-haired teen laughed adorably at his noticing. She then winked mischievously at him.

"You don't get away scot-free." The others all snickered at the ninth holder's expense, while Eri went around and gave them a quick zap back to acceptable condition as well. She briefly wobbled after finishing Katsuki, who steadied her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Watch it, squirt, you've still gotta work on that output." The teenager sent the Explosion user a firm nod.

"I've still got a year to practice before the entrance exam. Don't worry about me, Uncle Kacchan." Midoriya gazed proudly at the determined young lady, until Shoto began pulling him towards the front door.

"Let's go, we're already running late." Eri waved after them as the guys hurried towards the entrance.

"Good luck, da-EKU!"

Everyone looked back at her, seeing the girl covering her mouth, cheeks blushing, and eyes frozen in shock. Before they could question anything, she hurriedly rushed away around the side of the house. Baffled by the event, the guys looked back at Midoriya, who was also fairly red in the face, giving them a cheeky smile, shrugging.

Without further interruption, they burst into the house, putting on their game faces.

* * *

 **I'm starting to think italic bold text is way too unnecessary for these, so I'll just stick with the latter. Anyway, as is cliché with many authors, here is an update Christmas present for you all! hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season, whichever type it may be. I'm really hoping to have the last chapter out before the new year, which seems perfectly possible. Hm, I had something else to say, but forgot in the midst of the last few thousand words or so. Whatever, probably not important.**

 **hazeleyes180: Haha, I just had to throw in some classic gags. I do hope I provided the rest as well.**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: Glad to know I didn't overwhelm with the ass-kickings.**

 **HankFlamion18: Oh they will, they certainly will...**

 **lostdog200: Man, I've got so much pressure at this point for Ochaco's reaction. Must. Do it. Justice!**

 **MUTO TOHO: Hey, nice to see you! Yeah, total fanboy, right here.**

 _ **Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!**_

 _ **next chapter:**_ **Bonds of 1A**


	10. Bonds of 1A

Bonds of 1A

Dozens of eyes stared at the five as they awkwardly stood at the entryway, expecting most to give them glares of disbelief that they would be this late to a wedding of all things. It came as a surprise however, as practically everyone exploded into cheers, clapping and giving the returning heroes high-fives as they made their way down the hall towards the backyard. Though confused, they went along with it, smiling and waving back to their guests, immediately noticing most of their old classmates amongst the crowd.

Bakugo had to stave off Kaminari and Sero as they rushed him in an attempt to lock their arms around his neck, still whooping and praising him. Managing past all the chaos, the guys finally made it outside and to their end of the aisle, taking their places opposite their female counterparts. Momo gave Iida a concerned frown, to which he held up a hand, promising to explain later. She nodded, then shifted her sight and gave Shoto a smile, which he returned with a tense focus that made her flinch. Mina leaned forward and shot Eijiro a wicked grin and wink, causing him to gulp, but try his best to appear composed.

Then began the procession, the bride's entrance music playing. All heads turned to watch Ochaco being led down the aisle by her father, her expression joyful on the outside but clearly mixed on the inside, a notion that tripled Izuku's nerves, even as part of his brain fought the urge to cry from how beautiful she looked in her wedding dress. As the bride made it to her spot, Mr. Uraraka stepped over to give Midoriya a hearty embrace, which he attempted to replicate with little success, still preoccupied. Whether the man could tell this was the case or not, he gave the green-haired hero a reassuring wink as he backed off, along with a smirk.

Finally, the bride and groom turned to face the pastor, who began reciting his lines for the marriage. Almost immediately, Ochaco sighed under her breath, whispering to her partner.

"I should've known this would happen. You were always the one attracting the most trouble." Deku chuckled, still stiff, but realizing he may not be in as much trouble as originally thought, sensing the teasing tone in her tailing words.

"Y-yeah, I guess so." He paused, then eyes went wide. "Wait, everyone knows already?!" he hissed. Ochaco couldn't help but giggle at his panic, covering her mouth.

"Deku, it's been like twelve hours. I'm sure the news is global by now." She reached over and locked her fingers in his. "You and the guys saved a lot of people, I can't get mad for that delaying you all." Midoriya was about to open his mouth to interject, but managed to hear a low growl from Katsuki nearby, urging Izuku to just roll with it.

"I-I appreciate that, Ochaco." She smiled at him, then raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you so red though?" Deku sheepishly used his free hand to scratch at his cheek.

"It's a long story. I'm really sorry for being late, even if it was for hero work. But…" he beamed at his bride, making her tip her head curiously. "I think I can compensate for it. We'll be able to take a proper honeymoon since… apparently I'm really good at gambling." Ochaco's eyes froze as her mouth fell open. She glanced behind her at her father, who, as if knowing what they were talking about, gave two thumbs up and a grin to his daughter. "And uh… we could drop your parents off at Hawaii. It's really nice there right no-"

He was interrupted by Ochaco leaping at him, arms locking around his neck and lips smushed forcefully into his, nearly knocking him off balance. In response, everyone stood up and mixed in applause with a generous amount of cheering. The pastor, although unable to finish his part, simply shrugged, deciding it was close enough. No sooner had the couple separated from their kiss, that much of their former class came rushing up to congratulate them personally. Ochaco received countless hugs, while Izuku fell victim to numerous noogies and, slaps on the back, and a few modest handshakes form his more reserved friends.

Everyone had to take a few steps back as Ochaco's mom and Inko came up to embrace each other's kids, with Izuku's mother quickly dispensing a fire hydrant's worth of tears that fortunately missed most of Ochaco's dress. Iida, per his position as best man, took a seperate opportunity to give his congrats.

"I'm so thrilled for you two, taking this next big development in your lives. Midoriya, be sure to give the utmost respect and care to Ura- oh, hm..." Seeing their friend in a bit of a bind, the newlyweds smiled warmly at the man.

"Iida, we've known each other for so long now." The Engine user took Deku's meaning, nodding with both agreement and humbleness.

"Then please see that you and Ochaco treat one another with all that's expected of cherished partners, Izuku."

"Will do, Tenya," the couple replied in unison.

Eri took the next round, running in and catching both newlyweds in a hug. The gravity hero among them was seemingly overwhelmed by this, grabbing both her husband and her ward off the ground with her quirk and jumping up and down with them, tears falling down her permanently blushed cheeks. Laughter followed the emotional display, before the group finally loosened up to proceed with the rest of the celebration.

* * *

To mixed excitement and concern, Present Mic of all people had made it to the reception, with Jiro cautiously cranking up the volume of his requested song as the voice hero cleared his throat. To much surprise, the man actually dialed down his vocals as a slow but classy tune emerged from the surrounding speakers, Mic's gentle singing accompanying while numerous pairs stepped onto the dance floor to begin, led of course by Izuku and Ochaco themselves.

While the two blissfully slow-danced amidst their guests, Bakugo weaved past the various couples with what politeness he could muster, scanning the area for two specific people.

"Daddy!" He grinned and knelt down, catching a small boy in his arms before standing back up.

There's my favorite brat," he cackled, messing up his son's hair. The boy giggled, while Katsuki spotted the boy's mother and carried him over. Camie smiled upon seeing her two favorite boys.

"You looked so lit taking out that sphinx," she mused as he leaned over for a kiss. Bakugo flashed his manic grin.

"Dam- uh, dang right! Doesn't matter how big the villain is, I can blast them all to he- dust." His wife giggled at his poor language covering, but made no comment as their son excitedly shook in his father's arms.

"Daddy, daddy! I got my quirk!" Naturally, Bakugo's expression froze at this, stunned enough that his kid decided to continue. "I can shoot fireworks out of my hands! Mommy said their totes glam." Katsuki's eyes narrowed slightly in anticipation.

"Can they destroy stuff?" His son's smile cracked into a grin reminiscent of his old man.

"Tons!" Again, Katsuki gave that somewhat murderous grin.

"Excellent."

Over on the porch, where a bar had been set up, along with a few tables, Kirishima and Iida were sharing a few drinks while answering the questions of many fellow guests about their foreign debut. Just when they were feeling overwhelmed, the small crowd parted to the boisterous demand of Mina Ashido, who had Toru in tow. The pink-themed woman had her sights set firmly on Kirishima, who suddenly felt a tightening in his chest. Before he knew it, Mina was right in his face.

"Eiji, you've got to tell me about that tattoo you got! I don't remember that one." Red Riot nervously scratched the back of his head, chuckling.

"Heh, yeah, I got it while in Vegas. Long story really, but this famous artist did it for me with a special technique." Mina's golden eyes sparkled with greater wonder, leaning her face even closer to his.

"Oh wow! Lucky! You looked so cool while fighting that golem villain." Eijiro allowed himself to feel elated at the praise, firing off his trademark grin. It looked like he was in the clear. "Let's see it up close, horn buddy!" Or not.

"Wha-? I mean, that's not..." he stuttered. His mind tried to find an outlet, staring into the half-drunk cocktail in his hand. Mina rolled her eyes while wearing an amused smirk.

"Oh come on, Eiji, I've seen you with your shirt off before, several times up-close and personal." Kirishima's cheeks reddened slightly at that, while Hagakure and a few nearby guests snickered. Eijiro glanced down in his fluster, noticing his tux. The man's eyes widened.

"Come on, Mina, we're at a wedding. It wouldn't really be polite to strip my shirt off in front of all these people." He turned to his male companion. "Right, Iida?" Tenya took another sip of his drink before nodding firmly.

"Quite right, Kirishima. It would be most inappropriate etiquette." Eijiro silently thanked his friend for the backup. Turning back to the acid user, he found Mina with an adorable pout on her face, cheeks puffed out and hands on her hips.

"Mm, fine." Kirishima breathed a sigh of relief. That is, until Asui walked over.

"Kirishima, it looked like you had a second tattoo on your chest."

 _Dang it, Tsu!_

"My chest? Oh, haha, that was probably just some crud that got on me during the fight." Tsuyu placed a finger thoughtfully on her mouth.

"No, it definitely looked like a kanji. Ribbit." Eijiro was starting to sweat at this point. Sure, he'd resolved to confront Mina at some point, but he wasn't ready for right this moment! Unfortunately, the fire had been lit, with Ashido reaching her wiggling hands out towards the man's dress shirt, grinning mischievously.

"Show us the goods," she demanded. Hoping for another save, Kirishima turned to Iida. To his misfortune, the man had pulled his cellphone out, his face brightening upon reading the caller ID.

"Please excuse me, everyone." With that, Eijiro's lifeline walked off. He heard a foot tapping, turning back to see an impatient lilac girl.

"Either pull the shirt aside or I melt it off. Your choice, Riot." Sighing in defeat, Kirishima slowly reached up and gripped his attire, looking anywhere but at Mina as he uncovered part of his chest. There was silence for a long time, enough that Eijiro braved through the blood that had rushed to his face and moved his eyes to his horn buddy once again.

Mina was just staring at his newest ink, lips parted slightly in apparent shock. Her unblinking eyes almost distracted Kirishima from her lightly dusted cheeks, causing him to blush further from how cute she looked. Off to the side, he heard Toru squeal excitedly. Somehow, he found his voice.

"I-it's a funny story. See th-there was this whackjob whose quirk took away our inhibitions and-"

"In other words, you were being completely honest with yourself."

 _Dang it, Ts-!_

Kirishima's thought was inturrupted as Mina stepped closer to him and laid her hand on his chest. He just stared back into her eyes, unable to blink, let alone move. Her normally spunky self was replaced largely by an aura of vulnerability.

"So... that time at Bakugo's. That wasn't just the alcohol?" Eijiro let some of the tension leave his shoulders.

"No, it wasn't."

"And that speech about how I was a big part of your inspiration, since middle school?" Kirishima blinked.

"I said that out loud?" Mina's response to this was to move the hand on his chest up to grab and yank his collar, meeting his open and surprised lips halfway with her own. Initially stunned, Eijiro gradually regained the motor skills neccesary to move his hands up to cup the girl's cheeks and deepen the kiss. Beside the two, Toru hugged Asui from the side and began hopping up and down, cheering as if she was still a schoolgirl. Tsuyu let her have her fun, the frog girl's normally unreadable expression turning into a smile.

A ways away, leaning against the outdoor grilling counter, even Shoto couldn't help but smile at the touching moment. He was broken out of his thoughts soon after, as he sensed someone approaching. His hands balled in his pockets when he saw it was Momo. The Yaoyorozu heiress smiled softly at him, holding her hands in front of her.

"Hey there." Todoroki pushed off from his slouch, standing tall to address her.

"Hey." An awkward silence emerged, during which Shoto scanned the yard for a specific individual. He felt comfort in seeing Deku waving as he and Ochaco made their way over to the former recommended students. As the four now stood together, Momo looked at her counterpart curiously. In answer to this, the fire-ice user motioned to his closest friend. "I wanted Izuku to be here for this."

Yaoyorozu and Ochaco were both surprised by how he addressed the green-haired man, as well as intrigued by what he wished to dscuss. Deku nodded with a warm smile to his friend, prompting Shoto to begin. "Momo." Again, both ladies were caught off-guard by the lack of formality. "I've given this a lot of thought, and..."

Ochaco leaned over and whispered into her husband's ear, her brow furrowed. "Why does Todoroki want you here for this? It's nice that you're supporting him, but, it feels kinda personal, even for him." Izuku just smiled wider, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Shoto had taken a second to sum up his intent, looking Momo in the eye.

"I'd like your help in discussing a position at UA with Nezu."

Deku felt all the unease in Ochaco shift to confusion. Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu simply appeared suprised.

"You... you want to teach?" she asked, unsure whether she truly understood. Shoto nodded. "But, you're such a high-demand hero! Holding a spot at the school would create a great deal of stress for you and your agency." Todoroki didn't back down, acknowledging her reasoning with another nod.

"I know, but I've given it a great deal of thought. I want to help the next generation of heroes just as much as the civilians I defend. There are still plenty of kids out there who grew up like me, in a harsh environment with untold emotional trauma. There won't always be a 'Midoriya' in the class to barge into their business." Deku chuckled nervously. "I want to be there for both academic and mental growth, so that the succeding wave of heroes are unwavering in their hearts."

Momo could only stare at him as she processed it all. Eventually, a respecting smile dawned on her features. "That sounds wonderful, Shoto." Todoroki smiled back, grateful. He felt Izuku's hand fall on his shoulder, turning to silently thank him for being there. Ochaco, in between it all, clapped her hands together, beaming at her old classmate.

"Good for you, Todoroki! I'm sure Eri will love having you as a teacher. No uncle favoritism though," she warned playfully. All four of them shared a laugh at that, until Ochaco let out a breath. "But jeez, did you have to make the conversation sound like a confession?" Shoto and Momo both awkwardly stared off to the side. "Wait, are you- huh?!" Yaoyorozu began fiddling with her fingers as she faced her fellow heroine.

"We've kept it discreet due to our backgrounds. The media can be quite nasty when it comes to heroes' personal lives." Ochaco looked at her husband, who was nodding sagely. When he suddenly noticed his wife's glare, he shrugged sheepishly, to which she pouted.

"What else are you hiding from me, Deku?" she accused with vigor. Izuku and Shoto briefly exchanged glances.

"Heh, honestly, I forget some things myself."

* * *

Evening rolled in as the celebration winded down. A few members of the former class had to leave for hero work, but a fair amount were still chatting around the porch; save for four men who were sprawled out in lawn chairs away from the waning festivities. Bakugo had his sleeping son lain out over his chest, the kid having tired himself out. The explosion hero, along with Iida, Midoriya, and Todoroki, were having one last beer before calling it a night. Feeling the need to speak, Tenya glanced over to his best friend.

"Izuku, I must say, this was a gorgeous wedding."

"I give it six months." Everyone looked at Kasuki with a skeptical eye, prompting him to smirk. "Not the marriage, idiots; I mean before this nerd, his lady, and the squirt stop malfunctioning every time the words 'mom' and 'dad' come up." Izuku shrunk into his chair as Iida and Shoto chuckled at the thought. As that topic drifted off, Deku sent a thoughtful smile across the group.

"I know it ended up being way more than we asked for, but thanks for the bachelor party, guys." Tenya frowned as he absentmindedly studied the lable on his beer.

"We may have regained our memories, but our minds were quite askew. It would be nice to have some evidence with greater clarity." As the guys lamented this fact, Kirishima suddenly walked into the circle of chairs, holding out a small device.

"Hey, guys check out what I found." As Iida squinted to make out the details, recognition dawned.

"I don't believe it, that's the camera I brought to document our excursion." Eijiro stepped in the middle of the group, who all stood up and gathered around.

"Yeah, I found it stuck in the seat of the jet car."

"Are there photos on it?" Bakugo asked cautiously.

"Yeah, man, tons. Some of it's even worse than what we remembered." Katsuki leaned forward to make a grab.

"No fucking way, give me that!" As everyone scrambled for the camera, Deku managed to swipe it first.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he insisted, hands spread to keep the peace. "You guys, it was a crazy trip, but we remember the important points. Let's look through them once, together, then delete the evidence."

"Perhaps it would be best to delete them right now," Tenya suggested. This was shot down by a scowl from Bakugo.

"Fuck that, I want to know how that brit asshole managed a hit on me!" Kirishima chuckled.

"Oh yeah, that's in there." Izuku held up a finger.

"One time. Okay?" The guys all nodded in agreement. They leaned in closer as Deku held out the camera and clicked them into the saved pictures...

"Oh dear lord!"

"That's classic!"

...to be met with images of them at a strip club, Eijiro grinding on a lady beside a pole.

Bakugo driving the jet car off a massive ice ramp, jumping over several buses.

Todoroki flash-freezing the Bellagio fountain mid-performance.

Deku using a One of All powered pelvic thrust on a large neon sign in the shape of a female astronaut, destroying it.

Iida grinding along the zipline at the Old Strip with his quirk.

Bakugo and Kirishima making out.

Todoroki drinking champange that was poured over a topless woman's chest.

Iida pulling out his muffler with a clapping Hatsume beside him.

Bakugo getting nailed in the head as Landon expertly deflected his minor explosion with his frying pan, then swung it around for the counter.

And so many more...

* * *

 **Well, there you have it. Just barely managed to get it out before the next year. With the feedback I've gotten here, I'm definitely feeling more confident in my ability to portray these characters for when I begin the story I had planned before this crazy idea popped intonmy head.**

 **I'd like to sincerely thank each and every one of you who read, favorited, followed, and gave those sweet sweet reviews that let me know when I tripped up or did particularly well. I hope you all have a great New Years and I'll see you all later!**

 **Cieszesi Niezmiernie: I do hope I didn't leave any loose ends. I feel like I may have copped out with putting Bakugo and Camie together, but honestly I couldn't think of anything better, apologies.**

 **HankFlamion18: Yeah, it can be tough to follow up on an action chapter.**

 **los** **tdog200: Heh, sorry, I leave that up to the readers.**

 **RoaringWall: Thbak you for the kind words to this My Hero newbie.**

 **s082829: Oh yeah she did**

 _ **Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!**_


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